Longitudinal research from Insightfully, commissioned by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, found that more than 1 in 5 people have not filled a prescription in the past 3 years due to cost. This figure rises to 1 in 3 in regional Australia. Women, younger people, and those with dependents are most affected.

Pharmacy Guild National Councillor Mario Barone stresses the urgency of addressing this issue.

“We know what happens when people can’t afford their medicine – they get sicker,” he says. “Often there are complications that mean time off work, time in hospital and time recovering.”

Calls for government action 

Mr Barone urges the government to reduce the PBS general co-payment to ease financial pressure on patients.

“This non-inflationary measure would reduce out-of-pocket prescription costs for patients,” he says.

“Community pharmacists see patients struggling to afford their medicine every day.

“The government can, and should, take action to address these challenges and make sure medicine stops being a luxury item.”

Sydney pharmacist Claudia, echoes these concerns, explaining she sees multiple patients each week who are struggling to afford their medication.

“In the past 6 months I’d say 3-4 patients a week are struggling to afford their medication,” she says.

“We had a patient and realised he was only taking 50% of the medications he was meant to be taking just because he couldn’t afford to get all his medications.

“People are having to choose what they can and can’t get.”

Cost of living a top priority

With cost of living ranked as a top priority for voters, followed by healthcare, the Guild is calling on the government to act swiftly to improve medicine affordability.

“Australians are being forced to make tough choices between filling prescriptions and paying the rent, buying groceries and putting petrol in the car.

In the face of this evidence the government must act and make medicine more affordable by reducing the co-payment for general patients,” says Mr Barone.

For more information, visit: affordablemedicines.com.au.

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To combat rising cost of living pressures, Diabetes Australia has announced it will provide free support to all Australians living with diabetes across the country, in a major push to see people with diabetes better supported.

Cost of living concerns

Data released by Diabetes Australia on World Diabetes Day (14 November) reveals more than 90 per cent of people living with diabetes are anxious about the rising cost of living, and 75 per cent are worried that managing their diabetes will become unaffordable in the future.

Worryingly, half of survey respondents said cost of living pressures were negatively impacting their ability to manage their diabetes – which includes attending GP appointments, undertaking pathology tests and purchasing syringes to administer insulin.

The research reveals:

• 66% reported spending more on diabetes management now than five years ago
• 61% described the cost of accessing diabetes medicines and technology as their greatest challenge
• 33% have been forced to cut costs related to their diabetes management
• 44% are turning to cheaper, less healthy food options.

Carers are also spending more, with 82% reporting an increase in their financial contributions to managing diabetes over the past five years.

Risk of complications

Diabetes Australia Group CEO Justine Cain said if people living with diabetes can’t afford regular access to health care and medication to manage their condition, the risk of diabetes-related complications increases dramatically. This also places significant burden on our health care system, as more people are hospitalised with life-threatening complications.

“Diabetes is a condition that needs to be actively managed. People are being forced to make impossible choices between health care and everyday living, and ultimately that can have devastating consequences,” Ms Cain said.

“Diabetes costs the health care system around $3.4 billion every year and that cost is only going to increase if people can’t afford proper management which can lead to complications like kidney disease, heart attack and stroke.”

Free support

With the rising cost of living impacting the ability of people to access or afford primary care and GP services, causing them to disengage from health care, Diabetes Australia is introducing a free support program.

Diabetes YOUnited is a free national membership program offering access to up-to-date information and education tools, personalised support, regular news and updates with expert insights and resources, as well as better connection to, and support from, Australia’s largest diabetes community.

“Overwhelmingly, Australians living with diabetes have also told us that they want better access to trusted information and support. They’re looking for better connection to community and support services that will help them live well,” said Ms Cain.

“Cost shouldn’t be a barrier to that support.”

There’s also an option for people who choose to, and can afford it, to upgrade to receive additional services through Diabetes YOUnited Plus. People who are already members of Diabetes Australia will automatically receive the upgrade to the paid option, which includes a range of new services and supports in addition to existing benefits.

“It doesn’t matter where you live, from Bendigo or Broome; Bundaberg to Burnie and anywhere in between – Diabetes YOUnited is available for all Australians,” said Ms Cain.

To learn more about YOUnited and how you can support people living with diabetes, visit the Diabetes Australia Membership site.

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“It’s now clear that lowering the maximum Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) copayment is the best way to make medicines cheaper and support Australians challenged by the cost of living to meet their healthcare needs,” Pharmacy Guild of Australia President Professor Trent Twomey said.

“The numbers prove, in black and white, the positive impact lowering the maximum PBS copayment has on the lives of all Australians, not just a select few.
“The lowering of the maximum co-payment from $42.50 to $30 has saved patients a total of $346 million on medicines, as opposed to the $30 million from 60-day dispensing.

“On behalf of patients and community pharmacists, along with our partners, the Australian Patients Association, Chronic Pain Australia and Food for Change, the Guild campaigned to secure the Government’s historic lowering of the copayment, the first in the 75-year history of the PBS,” Professor Twomey said.

Together with the freezing of the concessional patient co-payments for five years until 1 January 2029, negotiated as part of the Eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement, community pharmacy continues to deliver cheaper medicines for all Australians.

“Community pharmacists are delighted the benefits of these landmark changes are now being realised in the everyday lives of Australians.

“We know, when putting together the weekly budget, some patients continue to go without medicines – so there is more work to be done. The recent 6th Australian Healthcare Index (AHI) survey and report, by Healthengine and the Australian Patients Association, revealed 28 percent of respondents were skipping buying needed medicine due to cost of living pressures.
“The Australian Bureau of Statistics also reports a rise in the people who delayed or went without prescription medication due to cost, from 5.6 per cent in 2021-22 to 7.6 per cent in 2022-23.

“In a country as fortunate as ours, patients should never feel they need to sacrifice their lifesaving medication in preference of other living costs,” Professor Twomey said.

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 The Australian Dental Association new President Dr Scott Davis has hit back at claims by the Reserve Bank Governor in the media that the cost of dentistry was helping to fuel inflation.

Responding to a comment from Michelle Bullock that “hairdressers and dentists, dining out, sporting and other recreational activities – the prices of all these services are rising strongly,” Dr Davis, who stepped into the peak body top job yesterday, said:

“You don’t go to the dentist for economic advice, and the Reserve Bank shouldn’t be handing out healthcare advice.

“You cannot possibly equate hairdressing with dentistry. If you don’t get your hair cut it doesn’t have a serious knock-on effect on the rest of the body. If you ignore your oral health however, for which visiting the dentist is a vital part, then you could be risking a whole range of health complications from stroke to cardiac issues to poor pregnancy outcomes. The two simply aren’t on par.”

The ADA confirms that dental fees nationwide have only increased by 3.7%, less than half the rate of inflation, based on its most recent fee survey (2020-2022) of its 17,500 members.

“Our member dentists have resisted passing on the rising costs of products and services in this inflationary climate, instead absorbing them into the cost of running a dental practice. Dentists are all too aware that patients are struggling to pay for a range of essential services in their day to day lives.

“We want to keep dentistry affordable for millions of Australians.”

Dr Scott Davis’ advice to consumers to make dental visits affordable:

1. Attend the dentist regularly and you’ll be more likely to get a modest bill compared to leaving it years when things have deteriorated and you’re more likely to face a more costly procedure.

2.Think and act preventatively – brush twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and floss daily, and this will go a long way to protecting your mouth health.

3. Ensure you’re not having more that the 24g of added sugar a day in your daily diet, which is the WHO maximum recommended limit. Sugar is a major contributory factor in tooth decay.

4. Save a small amount every week for your dental healthcare instead of buying a private health insurance ‘extras’ policy – that way your savings don’t disappear if you don’t use them, which is what happens at the end of the year if you haven’t used up all your insurance entitlements.

5. If you have children under 17 you may be eligible for the CDBS – only 38% of those eligible actually use this entitlement. Your dentist can help you work out if you’re eligible, and it offers treatments up to $1,052 in every two-year period.

6. If you’re looking at needing more treatments than just a basic checkup, such as a crown or implant, it helps to get a second opinion.

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The ABS data shows nearly 1.1 million Australians either delayed or didn’t get their required prescription medication because of the cost in the 2022-23 financial year.
This follows revelations that inflation will cause the maximum co-payment for non-concessional card holders to increase on January 1 by $1.60.
This will increase the cost of medicines from $30 to $31.60 for general patients, while the concessional co-payment will rise from $7.30 to $7.70.

Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s National President, Professor Trent Twomey said the aim of the Guild’s ‘Affordable Medicines Now’ Campaign has always been to reduce the maximum co-payment to $19 for Australian patients.

“Community Pharmacy won’t rest until the general patient co-payment is $19. This is one lever the government has at its disposal to help with the cost of living. The time to act is now.”

Professor Twomey said with inflation running at 5.4%, there has never been a more important time to bring down the cost of medicines.

“A reduction in the general patient co-payment to $19 will have an immediate, direct, and permanent reduction in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), structurally lowering inflation.” Professor Twomey said.

“With little to no second-round effect, the reduction will affect the health component of the CPI and most importantly deliver much needed and lasting cost of living relief to up to 19 million Australians and their families at a time they need it most.”

The Pharmacy Guild also pointed to statistics showing Australia compared poorly to other countries such as New Zealand, France, and Germany when it comes to the cost of medicines.

“In New Zealand for example there is no general co-payment for medicines, in Germany it’s under $17, while in France it’s just 50 Euro cents,” said Professor Twomey.

The post Cost of living now costing our health appeared first on Retail Pharmacy.

33% of respondents said they were less likely to reach for protein bars and shakes, while a further 36% noted the same for a well-known protein source, red meat.

“With prices of beef surging 14 per cent in a year between 2021 and 2022, it is no surprise to see Australians opting to eat less red meat. While inflation may have made Australians rethink what they put in their shopping trolley, when it comes to getting the right nutrients, knowledge is power,” said fitness coach and ambassador for MyFitnessPal, Luke Hines. 

With dietary preferences changing, this means Aussies could be missing out on important nutrients due to a lack of knowledge about what they’re eating. In fact, half of Australians say they have never tracked at all.

“When it comes to physical activity, performance starts in the kitchen,” added Luke Hines. “Thankfully there are lower-cost alternatives to red meat, such as legumes, eggs and tofu. Some of these options also come packed with carbs, so it’s important to track your food to stay on top of your macros.”

Popular protein rich foods such as chicken (28%) and dairy (22%) have been found to be the top two food groups Aussies would look to increase for additional protein.

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Commissioned by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and conducted by Insightfully from 6-7 April, the poll included 2500 people across Australia and revealed that 84% of Australians don’t want the proposal to proceed – 47% said they don’t think the 60-day dispensing policy should go ahead and 37% said they don’t think it should go ahead if it worsens medicine shortages.

The poll revealed that 86% of regional Australians don’t think that the 60-day dispensing should go ahead if it will result in medicine shortages.

“If the Federal Government proceeds with this proposal, everyday prescription medicine will be put into severe shortages lasting months, not days or weeks,” says National President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Professor Trent Twomey.

“I am very concerned for Australian patients and big shortages will hit common medicines that treat cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, depression, anxiety, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease to name just a few.

“The research is crystal clear, Australians do not support a policy if it means pharmacy shelves are bare and patients miss out on vital medicine that they need.

“We are calling on the Federal Government to reconsider.

“I don’t want to see a Hunger Games stand-off in any community in Australia where some patients get double the medicine they need, while others get nothing.

“We want to work with the Government to deliver cheaper medicine for millions of patients through our proposal to drop the PBS co-payment to $19, helping all Australians in this cost of living crisis,” he said.

Accidental overdose also a concern 

Another concern expressed by the Pharmacy Guilts relates to concerns around accidental overdose with more medicines sitting in homes.

The Guild says that the 60-day dispensing policy will mean more medications are sitting in family homes, which may increase the risk of accidental overdose, including for children.

According to the recent poll, 51% of Australians agree with this concern and oppose the plan for 60-day dispensing should it increase the risk of accidental overdose.

This follows the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) interim decision on 3 February 2023 to reduce the maximum pack sizes for paracetamol products due to the incidence of serious injury and death from intentional paracetamol overdose and a shortage of paracetamol medication.

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Relaunching its ‘Affordable Medicines Now’ campaign the Guild is advocating to reduce the maximum co-payment of PBS medicines from $30 to $19.

“Sadly, the recent successive rises in interest rates coupled with high inflation are eating away the gains we made in our campaign which successfully brought down the co-payment from a maximum of $42.50 to $30,” says Pharmacy Guild National President, Professor Trent Twomey.

“We have made no secret that we have wanted to go further and reduce the cost by another $11 to bring the maximum co-payment down to just $19, so more Australians can afford medicines for themselves and their families.”

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that over 700,000 Australians either delayed or went without their prescription medication in the financial year 2021/22.

Professor Twomey says the Guild is determined to get the Government to listen to its renewed campaign and has deployed resources to ensure its voice is heard.

“We’ve written to every federal MP across Australia asking them to back us to help Australians afford their own medicine,” he says

“Both sides of politics say our health is a priority. Well, let’s see if they are willing to put their money where their mouth is and support a fair reduction to the cost of medicines.”

Professor Twomey says this is the beginning of a long campaign to bring the co-payment down further.

“We are prepared to campaign as long as it takes to ensure Australians get a fair go on medicine affordability,” he says.

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The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) says the May Budget is an opportunity for the Government to do this, by acting on reforms that include:

• Extending the length of prescriptions to save patients time and money.
• Allowing a larger supply of medicines in one go. They say a two-month supply would halve dispensing fees.
• Investigating the benefits of removing the $1 discount rule, which caps discounts on medicines.
• Overhauling Australia’s anti-competitive pharmacy ownership and location laws, which they say inflate costs for patients.
• Making prescribing faster and easier for GPs, so they have more time for patient care by streamlining the Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule (PBS) prescribing system, which they says is unnecessarily complex.

‘Health system crisis must be tackled from all sides’ 

“We have a cost-of-living crisis and a health system crisis on our hands, and people across Australia are feeling the crunch and struggling to access or afford the healthcare and medicines they need,” says RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins.

The health system crisis must be tackled from all sides, says Dr Higgins, including by making medicines cheaper and easier to access.

Dr Higgins says the solution to this is simple reforms that the Government “can and should make to save patients’ money and time”. These reforms, she adds, will also free up GPs “so we can see more patients”.

“This includes extending the length of prescriptions. If GPs could give longer prescriptions of 15 months instead of the usual 6 months to suitable patients, it would make a big difference. GPs should have the flexibility to decide what’s right for their patients,” says Dr Higgins.

“Another easy way to lower costs is to allow patients to get a larger supply of medicines in one go by increasing the supply interval for certain medicines.

“This will save the government money on dispensing fees which could in turn be used to further subsidise patient care.

“These reforms are an easy way to help those most in need, including people who are older and those with chronic conditions who often need multiple medicines.

“It will save money for individual patients, as well as significant savings for the overall health budget and taxpayers.

“We also support further investigation of the benefits to patients in changing the $1 discount rule. This prevents pharmacies from discounting medicines that cost more than the current co-payment of $30 by more than $1. Other countries like New Zealand don’t have this rule, so pharmacies can offer significant discounts on some medicines,” she says.

PBS prescribing system reforms needed

Dr Higgins also calls for changes to the PBS prescribing system to reduce administration time and free up GPs to see patients.

“The current PBS authority system is time-consuming and an administrative burden for GPs, with questionable if any benefits for patients,” she says.

“If this system was updated and streamlined it would result in shorter consults, lower Medicare billings, and GPs would have more time to spend with patients, rather than cumbersome administration.

“Australia needs to seriously explore alternative models to lower the cost of medicines and increase access and choice for people across Australia. Other models such as supermarket pharmacies, online pharmacies and automated dispensing machines are used widely in other western countries like the US and UK and could make a real difference here, particularly in rural communities,” Dr Higgins says.

‘Too many people missing out’ 

“Everyone deserves access to affordable and high-quality primary care and medicines, no matter their postcode or income,” Dr Higgins says.

“But too many people are missing out, which is causing more people to go to the hospital and more pressure on our overstretched emergency care system.

“The Government needs to stem the bleeding in this Budget by providing urgent relief to Australians facing growing out-of-pocket costs for healthcare. And we are continuing to call for an increase in Medicare rebates, including for longer complex consultations.

“The government should also use the Budget to act on these reforms to make medicines cheaper and easier to access. It is an easy way to help Australians battling rising costs at a time when they really need it, as well as reducing overall healthcare costs, and freeing up GPs to spend more time with patients,” she says.

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The 29% reduction will help ease the cost-of-living pressures for many Australians.

Here’s what pharmacies need to know to support their customers.

Costs and discounts

• The maximum cost of the general co-payment for PBS prescriptions will reduce by $12.50, from $42.50 to $30.00.
• Pharmacists will be able to provide an increased discount to general patients on prescriptions with a Commonwealth price between $30.00 and $45.60.

Safety Net, Closing the Gap and concessional patients

• When the increased discount is applied, the amount paid by the patient will still count towards their PBS Safety Net. This ensures no one will be worse off by the changed co-payment. Pharmacists will not be eligible to claim PBS benefits if the increased discount is applied.
• These changes won’t affect the amount concession card holders pay. This includes concession card holders in the Closing the Gap (CTG) PBS co‑payment program. However, from 1 January 2023, the concessional co‑payment amount will change in line with the CPI.
• Concessional patients are already receiving benefits from reductions to the PBS Safety Net. On 1 July 2022, the Safety Net was reduced by $81.60 to $244.80.
• Patients who are part of the CTG program won’t be disadvantaged by a reduced co-payment when reaching the general PBS Safety Net threshold.
• CTG prescriptions priced at or above the general co-payment ($30.00 in 2023, then indexed annually) will continue to count toward the PBS Safety Net at the current amount of $42.50.

Software updates

• The Australian Government has worked with software providers to make relevant updates.
• Pharmacists won’t have to do anything to implement the changes. Software systems will automatically update.

Services Australia

• Services Australia administers the PBS.
• This includes processing pharmaceutical benefits and Safety Net claims, authority applications and supply of PBS stationery used by health professionals.
• For more information call 132 290 or visit the Services Australia website.

For more information, visit: pbs.gov.au/info/healthpro/co-payment-reduction 

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