Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I am not familiar with the particular article that you raised, but I can say in relation to the substance of the question that the government is always concerned about ensuring that there is affordable access to health care for all Australians, particularly those who have the least capacity to pay. That is why we do have the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The PBS copayment and safety net arrangements do help to ensure that subsidised medicines are affordable for all Australians and that low-income earners are eligible for medicines at a concessional rate of $5.30 per prescription. I can also say that the scheme that underpins the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Medicare Australia, which manages the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme on behalf of the Health and Ageing portfolio, does have a compliance system in place to ensure that if there are problems in the prescription area then, of course, there are a range of ways to deal with it. First of all, there is a fraud or tip-off line that can be accessed, so if there are allegations that the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is being rorted then it can be brought to the attention of Medicare Australia so that it can be investigated.

If Senator Fielding has evidence of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme being rorted in any way, then that information can be provided to Medicare Australia to ensure that they can investigate that area. But the benefits that do flow, if we are talking more broadly about the entire Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, do provide assistance to pensioners to ensure that they can access their medicine— (Time expired)