A mandated price drop will happen on October 1 on more than 226 medicine brands listed on the PBS.
The price drops, the government says, will save consumers and taxpayers more than $344 million, delivering cheaper medicines for patients and more support for listing more new medicines on the PBS.
By law, pharmaceutical companies must reveal to the government the prices at which they sell multi-branded PBS medicines to wholesalers and pharmacies.
If the government is paying a significantly higher price, this it says is reduced to bring the PBS price closer to the general market price.
Prices will be reduced on a total of 24 medicines, sold as a total of 226 brands.
Common medicines which will be cheaper for general (non-concessional) patients, include:
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- Pregabalin: around 200,000 patients per year with neuropathic pain will now pay $33.38 per script, a saving of up to $6.12 per script.
- Valsartan with hydrochlorothiazide: about 4,500 hypertension patients per year will now pay $23.96 per script, a saving of up to $2.18 per script; and
- Dorzolamide: about 1,300 glaucoma patients each year will now pay $19.18 for these eye drops, a saving of $3.02 per script.
Since coming into Government, the Liberal National Government has subsidised almost $10 billion worth of new medicines.
It says it is currently making on average one new or amended PBS listing per day.
In the Budget the government announced its investment of $2.4 billion on new medicines to build on its commitment to guarantee those essential services that all Australians rely on.
It says its commitment to the PBS is rock solid. Together with Medicare, it is a foundation of the nations’s world-class healthcare system.
The full list of medicines is available from the Department of Health’s website.
