On 1 January 2023 concessional patients will be facing a price hike of at least 50 cents per script from $6.80 to $7.30. For individuals and families on fixed incomes of less than $78,000 per year, this is yet another government-imposed price increase they cannot afford.
The law currently mandates that the Concessional PBS Co-Pay must be increased by CPI on 1 January each year. Based on the 12-months to August 2022 CPI figure of 6.8%, that means Concessional patients will be facing an increase of at least $0.50 per script on 1 January 2023, from $6.80 to $7.30.
The increase will also impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander general patients who access PBS medicines via the Closing the Gap program.
That’s an extra $76 million each year the Government wants to charge people for access to their medicines at a time when they can least afford it.
Families earning less than $78,000 a year are making choices between feeding their kids, paying their rent, putting fuel in their car, and whether they can afford their medicines, let alone visit the GP to get the script.
Every cent counts. Every per cent increase hurts.
Government shouldn’t be profiting from the inflationary pressures being placed on the community.
A two-year freeze on indexation being applied to the concessional PBS Co-Pay would help keep medicines affordable for everyone in the community until our economy is back on track.
Better Access Australia is seeking urgent action by the Senate to amend the National Health Amendment (General Co-Payment) Bill to freeze indexation increases to the Concessional PBS Co-Pay till 2025 to ensure medicines remain affordable for everyone during these times of unprecedented rises in the cost of living in Australia.
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