Government's PBS co-payment legislation must be rejected
AMA President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, today called on the Senate to reject the Government's legislation to increase co-payments for prescriptions under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) when it is introduced to the Upper House for the second time.
Dr Phelps said higher PBS co-payments would severely disadvantage the people in the community who could least afford them - the aged, people with chronic or recurring illness, and low-income families with young children.
"The sickest and the poorest Australians will suffer if this legislation gets through," Dr Phelps said.
"It is a case of cynically putting the budget bottom line ahead of better health outcomes for all Australians.
"The Government should be looking at ways to improve the PBS, not undermine it. Australians should have affordable access to medicines when they need them. Increasing the co-payment cannot solve the problems that the PBS will face in ensuring access to the new generation of drugs.
"The proposed increases would mean that concession cardholders face an extra $1 for each script - bad news for pensioners.
"Other Australians would pay an additional $6.20 per script, with the maximum co-payment rising to $28.60 per script - bad news for low income individuals and families and people with chronic illness.
"Research shows that cuts in access to pharmaceuticals can have the long-term effect of increasing health costs as an individual's health conditions may worsen if not treated appropriately or in a timely manner. This puts pressure on the public hospital system in particular.
"This legislation has been rejected once. The Senate must reject it a second time to allow the Government to take it back to the drawing board for an injection of social justice," Dr Phelps said.
Recent estimates show that the increase in the spending on the PBS is much less than originally thought. Data from the Health Insurance Commission now shows that the annual growth for the PBS for the financial year 2001-2002 was 10.3 per cent rather than the previously thought 20.3 per cent.
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