The head of Australia’s pharmacy peak body has called the federal Labor government’s latest decision to subsidise medicine “smoke and mirrors” amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Health Minister Mark Butler revealed on April 26 that the government is making “hundreds of common medicines cheaper” by allowing Australians to double the amount of medicine they can buy on a single prescription, from one to two months’ supply.
It’s applied to more than 320 medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to those with stable, ongoing conditions.
Australian Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler speaks at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on July 28, 2022 . (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)
But Trent Twomey, president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, said there were shortages on 40 percent of drugs on the list, noting around 472 medicines either critically short or completely unavailable….