THE Prime Minister has vowed to defend Australia’s cheaper medicines program, revealing a plan to slash prices further in the face of threats from US pharmaceutical giants.
While the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) has unanimous support in Australia, big US pharmaceutical companies resent not being able to extract maximum profits from Australians for their essential medicines.
One of America’s peak lobby groups has called for President Donald Trump to add Australian medicine manufacturers to his tariff hit list, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backed the scheme as a “core part of who we are as Australians”.
“It’s not surprising that there is a push and some opposition to the PBS, but let me be very clear and explicit – the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is not for sale,” he said during a speech on the Gold Coast last week.
“It is a monument to the fairness at the heart of Australian life and we don’t negotiate our values.”
In a 243-page submission to the US government, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) claimed “egregious and discriminatory” pricing policies in places like Australia, Canada and Japan were undervaluing American innovation, threatening billions in lost sales and putting American competitiveness, jobs and exports at risk.
PBS listings in particular dictate access to the Australian market and “unnecessary” supplemental data requests alongside other administrative motions cause significant delays, while the scheme’s pricing policy could have a “chilling effect” that prevents Australians from gaining fast access to new medicines, the group said.
But the PBS improves the lives of Australians, Mr Albanese said, and cheaper medicines make it easier for citizens to look after their health.
For example, Australians who use menopause medication Estrogel currently pay $31.60 per prescription but those in America reliant on the same treatment can pay up to $US223.40 per unit.
Medicines could continue to get cheaper for Australians after the Prime Minister revealed on Thursday that the maximum price Australians would pay for PBS-listed prescription medicines will be reduced from $31.60 to $25, if Labor is re-elected.
The Coalition quickly matched the proposal.
Under Labor’s plan, four out of five PBScheme medicines would become cheaper, saving Australians $200 million every year.
