AMA submission calls for reform to unfair health rules affecting prisoners
The AMA is calling for reforms to unfair and outdated rules that prevent Australian prisoners from receiving equitable healthcare.
The AMA is calling on the federal government to update rules that prevent people in custodial settings from accessing Medicare and medicines subsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
In a submission to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee’s March 2024 meeting on access to medicines for people in custodial settings, we raised serious concerns about inequitable healthcare for Australians in custody.
The legislation was designed to avoid duplication of services, with state and territory governments funding prison-based health services. However, as our submission notes, this exclusion has led to significant health treatment disparities for Australian prisoners.
Because of legislation dating back to 1973, people in custodial settings are not able to receive treatment under the country’s universal health insurance scheme, Medicare, nor are they allowed to receive medicines subsidised by the PBS.
Read the AMA Health Care in Custodial Settings Position Statement
