Support for the Australia's PBS from Coalition Senators

Ahead of the September 7 elections, Australian Coalition Senators have issued a statement acknowledging the many strengths of Australia’s existing Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Overall the PBS delivers to the Australian community a wide range of both older and newer prescription medicines in a way that offers patients a high degree of confidence that they are of high quality, safe and compared to the cost of medicines in some other countries, reasonably priced, they said.

Maintaining the integrity of the Scheme requires constant vigilance on the part of the various regulatory authorities responsible for its administration, including the Department of Health and Ageing (DHA). The Coalition Senators also acknowledge that it is a particular challenge to contain the costs of medicines listed on the PBS and that the reforms reflected in the National Health Amendment (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) Bill 2010 aim to address this issue.

The Coalition supports the A$1.9 billion ($1.75 billion) savings measures sought to be achieved by this Bill. These reforms build on the extensive reforms to the PBS introduced by the Coalition Government in 2007. However, the extent and wide ranging nature of the new reforms raise some significant issues of public policy that in the view of Coalition Senators have not been adequately addressed and should be reviewed before the Bill is permitted to proceed.