The cost of hundreds of medicines will be halved for millions of Australians with chronic illness, who will be able to buy 60 days' worth of medicine for the price of a single prescription from September, under a major and controversial shake-up of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in next month's budget.
Health Minister Mark Butler said about six million Australians will be able to collect a two-month supply of some common medicines rather than one when they pick up their script, effectively halving the cost.
"Over the past five years, patients with chronic disease have literally shelled out hundreds of millions of dollars in co-payments that they didn't need to shell out," Mr Butler said.
"We are going to put an end to that."
The minister has refuted warnings by pharmacies that the changes could lead to supply shortages, and said few of those that will be listed faced any issue.
The change will mean more patients need fewer visits to the GP for repeat prescriptions, and the government estimates it will save Australians more than $1.6 billion over the next four years.
The policy will be targeted at people with chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease and will include more than 320 medicines on the PBS.
One hundred of those medicines will be listed in September, with a second tranche in March next year and the final tranche in September 2024.
Consumers Health Forum of Australia chief executive Elizabeth Deveny said the change would mean more Australians could pay for vital medicines they might otherwise have delayed getting.
"Consumers are telling us that they can't afford their health care," Dr Deveny said.
"They pay the out-of-pocket costs for their visits to GPs and any medicines where they pay a co-payment, and they can't afford to pay this anymore.
"Many of them are really struggling to pay for things like their rent or their mortgage, and then making the decision not to pay for their medicines.
"We see this change to prescribing as one way to reduce the costs of health care. This will allow many Australians to afford the health care that they actually need."
The decision to write a script that allows for two months of medicine to be dispensed will be made by a patient's doctor, and the option to prescribe a one-month supply remains, if there is concern about any potential risks for the patient.
Dr Deveny noted not all Australians would be able to take advantage of the change, given only a few hundred medicines would be included.
"It is very important that those of you who take a lot of medicines, particularly those with chronic disease, have a conversation with your healthcare professionals and understand what this means for you," she said.
Minister refutes pharmacy warnings of supply shortages
The Pharmacy Guild has been staunchly opposed to the idea after the government flagged its intention to implement the change last week, arguing it could lead to supply shortages and impact patient care.
The Pharmacy Guild's president Professor Trent Twomey said there were already 472 medications in Australia that were critically short in supply or completely unavailable.
"We've got more medicine outages in Australia than we've ever had in the history of the pharmaceutical benefits scheme," Professor Twomey said.
"So the government needs to stop worrying about a glossy announcement, a pre-budget promise about helping the cost of living, and get the basics right first. Which means making sure everyone can get at least one box."
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton wrote on Facebook that he expected the changes would worsen supply issues.
"Pharmacists are already struggling to get enough stock for families and older Australians," Mr Dutton said.
Mr Butler denied the changes would affect medication supply, and said only seven of the proposed medications to be listed had any supply issues.
"This is not going to change the number of tablets dispensed in a given period of time. It is simply going to mean that people can get two boxes at a time, instead of having to get one box and come back twice as often," Mr Butler said.
"I would caution against some of the scare campaigns being put by the pharmacy lobby group."
Mr Butler said those medicines that did face supply challenges were being "dealt with consciously" by the Threapeutic Goods Administration.
Speaking ahead of the government's announcement, ACT Pharmacist and Capital Chemist Charnwood owner Samantha Kourtis said there would also be a huge financial cost to pharmacies.
"We can't afford to keep our doors open, offering the same services when this comes through, as what we are now," she said.
"There will be cuts. We're anticipating one-third of the pharmacy employment sector will lose their jobs. That's pharmacists, nurses, pharmacy assistants."
However, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Nicole Higgins dismissed those suggestions as alarmist.
"At a time when the Pharmacy Guild has recorded the biggest profits in pharmacy, this is fearmongering," she told the ABC on Tuesday.
"We need to put patients first and we need to make sure people can have cheaper and easier healthcare and free up those GP appointments."
Pharmacists currently receive dispensing fees from the Commonwealth each time medication is sold.
Mr Butler said the change would save $1.2 billion in dispensing fees over the next four years, which would be "entirely" reinvested into community pharmacies.
In 2018, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommended that patients should be able to increase their script refill from one month's supply to two month's supply for about 143 common medicines, however it was not adopted by the former Coalition government.
