Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Gallagher. With the community pharmacy agreements playing a crucial role in ensuring Australians have access to safe, affordable and life-saving medicines, can the minister detail the government's intentions regarding the negotiations of the new Community Pharmacy Agreement? How does the government plan to build on the legacy of the PBS, introduced 75 years ago by the Curtin Labor government, to continue providing affordable medicines? What are the specific strategies to enhance the role of community pharmacies in our health system?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Polley for her question and for all her work over many years on the community affairs committee and on other committees that have looked at issues around affordability and accessibility of health care and medicines for Australians. The PBS is one of the most important pillars of our health system. This has been recognised by Labor governments stretching right back, including those who introduced Australia's first scheme designed to ensure that Australians would be given access to affordable medicines.

Labor remains committed to providing Australians with access to affordable medicines, and community pharmacies, as Senator Polley said in her question, play a vital role in our health system. This includes ensuring pharmacies can work to the fullest extent of their skills and training to build the strength of the sector. We want more Australians to benefit from the experience and the care that is provided by community pharmacies in more ways than they already do. For the past 30 years, since they were introduced by the Hawke government, a series of community pharmacy agreements have outlined the way in which the government reimburses community pharmacy for dispensing subsidised medicines on the PBS, providing medication management programs and services. As the government strengthens Medicare and reforms primary care, there is a renewed focus on how every health worker, including pharmacists, can contribute to the health of Australians.

The Minister for Health and Ageing has announced that the government will soon begin negotiations for an eighth community pharmacy agreement and this agreement will support the government's ongoing commitment to improving patient health outcomes and providing cheaper medicines for all Australians. As I said yesterday, the 60-day dispensing is an important cost-of-living measure that will ease the burden on household budgets by some $180 per medicine, per year. This is an important cost-of-living measure and the Senate should support it.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Polley, a first supplementary?

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the recent budget, the government committed to introducing 60-day prescriptions. How is the government planning to reinvest the savings from this initiative back into the community pharmacy sector? Could the minister elaborate on the measures already in effect and those on the way to strengthen the role of pharmacists in our health care?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I can, Senator Polley. Every single dollar that the government saves with the 60-day prescriptions will be reinvested straight back into the community pharmacy sector, so pharmacists play an even more central role in the health care of Australians. Some of the reinvest measures have already taken effect, like the doubling of the budget for the Regional Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance and the changes to opioid dependency treatment for tens of thousands of Australians who can now buy medication at their PBS approved pharmacy at PBS prices. Other measures are on the way, like expanding the scope of pharmacists into residential aged care to work on-site in a clinical role, improving medication management and safety, and on January 1 we will further expand the National Immunisation Program to pharmacists and have pharmacists finally paid the same rate that a doctor gets to administer vaccines. We have also delivered a major increase in government payments to every single pharmacy around the country, which are now paid seven per cent more for services like dispensing, handling, administration and infrastructure.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Polley, a second supplementary?

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Could the minister further explain how the government is fulfilling its commitment to reinvest savings from the move to 60-day prescriptions? Specifically, what support is being provided to rural and regional pharmacies as part of the reinvestment package, and how will these investments ensure the ongoing strength and vitality of the pharmacies in our largest rural towns and remote communities?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the work of our Tasmanian senators who have been making representations to the government about issues that have been raised with them as this reform is being progressed. As part of the reinvestment package, the government is doubling the total budget for the Regional Family Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance. There are currently over a thousand pharmacies in regional, rural and remote Australia that access this allowance, and current data shows more than 87 per cent of all pharmacies in regional, rural and remote Australia access the allowance. Under the increase, Australia's most rural pharmacies may be eligible for almost $100,000 in government assistance. And from September 1 this year, the government is introducing the Regional Pharmacy Transition Allowance to support pharmacies in the transition to 60-day scripts. This will provide $148.2 million over four years for eligible pharmacies in regional, rural and remote Australia.