Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today this House has been debating the government's bill to cut the maximum cost of prescriptions from $42.50 to $30 as of 1 January. For many Australians, and for many in Boothby, this will come as an enormous relief. There will quite literally be people in my electorate who will no longer be forced to choose which medicine to prioritise when the family budget gets tight.

A few years ago, I ran primary healthcare services for SA Health. Primary health care focuses on preventing the onset and escalation of disease and illness. Ensuring that all Australians—particularly those doing it tough financially—can afford the prescription medicines they need is crucial, if we want to do this.

Many people in our community are managing chronic health conditions or risk factors on a daily basis through the effective use of prescription medicines. But of course the medicines only work if they're taken regularly and as prescribed. What I have heard from the community is that, when the family budget is tough, sometimes these medicines aren't the priority.

Reducing the cost of medicines also has benefits beyond the individual. It's one of the truisms in primary health care that one dollar of prevention saves nine dollars of hospital care. Reducing the cost of prescriptions is money well spent, both for the individual and for the health system.