Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Fraser for his question. I know how hard he campaigned at the last election on strengthening Medicare and delivering cheaper medicines. At the budget last month, our government delivered on that promise—cheaper medicines.

Even before that, just a few months ago back in July, the safety net threshold for millions of pensioners and concession cardholders in Australia was slashed by 25 per cent, meaning that, across the year, those millions of Australians know that they will pay no more than $4.70 per week for all of their medicine needs. In September, the price of more than 2,000 different brands of medicines was also cut, delivering around $130 million in cash to hardworking Australian patients. And last month, tens of thousands of self-funded retirees gained access for the first time to seniors health cards, which will see their medicine bills plummet as well. But there is still more to come. On 1 January, this government will deliver the biggest cut to the price of medicines in the 75-year history of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, bringing the maximum co-payment for general patients down from $42.50 to just $30—putting around $200 million, each and every year, back into the pockets of hardworking general patients.

This is not just good for their hip pocket at a time of huge pressure on household budgets, it's also good for their health. That's what hundreds of thousands of asthma and other chronic lung disease sufferers are going to experience on 1 January. We've already been hearing from a number of them, who will see a big cut to the price of their inhalers like Symbicort and Seretide.

Bella, who's just 23, wrote to us and said: 'As a newlywed fresh out of uni, it's a strange thing having to pick between breathing properly and having savings in the bank. A price drop in Symbicort will make all the difference to my life as well as the lives of countless other Australians.' Lindsay, who's a mum from Saint Mary's in New South Wales, wrote to us and said: 'This is great news. I use Seretide daily and have been struggling with the cost. I was reducing my dose to make it last longer, but this will help me a lot financially.' And Karen from Victoria said: 'I often pay around $200 a month for all of my asthma medication. This reduction in the price of Symbicort will be life changing.' Our delivery on our promise to deliver responsible cost-of-living relief to Australians is making a real difference.

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