Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bennelong for his kind words. I rise to speak today in response to this motion regarding the recent reduction to the cost of medications on the PBS. Healthy nations are prosperous nations. Australia's universal health system, Medicare, our world-class hospitals and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme are perhaps our greatest national assets. For this reason, I welcome the government's decision to reduce patient contributions to medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. A 30 per cent reduction in costs represents very real savings for Australian households. We know that the out-of-pocket cost to patients of GP visits and medicines are an increasing burden to many of us in this time of significant cost-of-living pressures.

Accessible medicines are a pillar of our national health system. Medications have to be not just affordable but also accessible. Australia imports more than 90 per cent of its medications. In fact, we're dangerously dependent on imported medicines. Recent supply chain issues have impacted many of my constituents, putting them at risk of harm from side effects related to alternative preparations and also the long-term health obligations of uncontrolled disease. Mr Ian Picken of Balwyn told me:

When seeking to purchase a monthly update of my prescription which I have been taking for several years, my pharmacist advised there is currently no stock. It is now several weeks that I have been waiting for supplies to be available. My pharmacist has me on a priority list and has undertaken to call me once he has some stock. Hopefully next week.

Another Kooyong constituent, Daniel, is worried about being forced to change his medications. He said:

I have found out from my doctor that the company has stopped making my drug and no other company makes it as it is no longer profitable. That is the bottom line. So I have to come off them gradually and then nothing for at least a week before I can try a new drug.

He added—and he's right—you can't change your medication like you change your socks. Mr Alex Mazzolini of Hawthorn advised me:

On several occasions when I have been unable to get my diabetes medication I have gone on to half dose to make the supply I have last a little longer.

In the past few months alone we have seen shortages of multiple antibiotics in Australia, including paediatric preparations, diabetes medications and antidepressants. How many Australians are having their health compromised by a lack of access to the medications that they need? Other constituents have expressed frustration in relation to the prescribing and dispensing of medications in this country. They describe unnecessary, costly visits to their GP for repeat prescriptions, and the limits placed on supply at the pharmacy which mean both inconvenience and, often, additional cost.

The need for routine repeat scripts is an inconvenience; it's an avoidable cost to Medicare, an unnecessary demand on the GP sector and, more and more, it's an increased out-of-pocket cost to patients. The supply of prescription medications by pharmacies is regulated; multiple prescriptions are supplied only in certain circumstances. In 2018, the PBAC recommended allowing the dispensing of 143 commonly dispensed medications at two months worth at a time. Why are we still paying too much in dispensing fees? Our health system needs reform in order to adapt to changing demographics and evolving health pressures. We need system revision, with flexibility and agility. We need to avoid unnecessary repetition of both medical and pharmaceutical services, and we need to give patients greater agency over the management of their own health.

We also need a national strategy to ensure reliable supply of medications, including a review of our sovereign manufacturing capacity and how our government can support better support it. While our domestic market is small, we do have established supply chains and we have great proximity to the Pacific market. We could expand our manufacturing capacity, decrease our sovereign risk and support our Pacific partners by increasing local manufacture of pharmaceuticals.

I thank my constituents for allowing me to share their personal experiences, which are the experiences of many Australians. There is still much work to do for us to make medicines more equitably affordable and reliably accessible for all Australians.

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