Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are you seeking the call, Senator Henderson?

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was seeking the call. I was seeking leave of the Senate to propose a formal business which we weren't able to move because of the hard marker. I'm seeking leave in relation to general business notice of motion No. 639.

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted? Senator Gallagher?

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

by leave—I think the issue is that the bill has been called on. The clerk has called the bill on, and so the window for seeking leave has lapsed. You will get another chance, presumably, when we finish the bill. I'm happy to look at what we can do, Senator Henderson, to work to provide you with the information. We are reluctant to give leave because of the hard-marker rule, but if there is some work we can do to work out how we can provide that information to you, I will do that with the minister.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition supports the bill that is before the chamber, the National Health Amendment (Technical Changes to Averaging Price Disclosure Threshold and Other Matters) Bill 2024, because the bill clarifies the operation of the National Health Amendment (Enhancing the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) Act 2021. The 2021 amendment act provides improved pricing arrangements and more reliable supply for older and low-cost medicines that can be more susceptible to medicine shortages. This is related to the minimum stockpile holding requirements, which require companies to hold a minimum of either four or six months of stock in Australia for certain PBS medicines referred to as 'designated brands'. As part of this measure, the Australian government supported the investment by the medicines industry in managing supply chain risks through the MSR through one-off price increases to improve the viability of low-cost medicines. In addition, the designated brands are protected from price disclosure reductions through thresholds, which ensure the price reductions occur only when there is significant discounting in the market or when there is sustained discounting over a period of time.

The bill before us today clarifies the operation of the act which relates to designated brands subject to the price disclosure thresholds. The bill includes only technical amendments, which are intended for the avoidance of doubt and do not alter the operation of existing provisions which have been in effect since 1 July 2022. The introduction of the 2024 bill follows a recent Federal Court action by a generic medicines company. While the Federal Court dismissed the case, this amendment addresses the potential risk that the timing of a price disclosure reduction could be invalid. The coalition will support this bill because it clarifies the provisions of the 2021 amendment act, which was brought in under the former coalition government and forms part of the important strategic agreements we made with the pharmaceutical industry.

Whilst we support this bill, we are disappointed by the Albanese Labor government's lack of action on the health technology assessment review, which also forms part of the strategic agreement with Medicines Australia. The review was designed to reflect that, whilst we need affordable medicines and treatments available here in Australia, we also need to ensure timely access to new developments as they become available. That balance between affordable and timely access is critical for those patients who have no time to wait.

The government was supposed to have released the final report of the HTA review at the end of last year, but it sat on the minister's desk for months. The coalition does welcome the release of the final report last week, which was terribly long overdue. We're now working through the 236 pages of the report and its recommendations. We recognise that, whilst we need safe and affordable medicines and treatments available here in Australia, we also need to ensure timely access as new developments become available. However, I remain seriously concerned that, without a commitment from the government with set timeframes for implementation, we will see this review end up, like so many others, collecting dust on the minister's desk.

Australia's HTA system must be evolved to keep pace with advancements in medical technology seen across the globe. We know patients' lives depend on it. It has also become clear that we are falling behind the rest of the world, where other countries are able to make approvals at a much greater speed than we can currently here in Australia. Australia's current HTA processes were not designed with the current technological advancements in mind and need to be updated for the modern realities of health care. We need to evolve our system to keep pace with the rapid evolution of technology that is so critical for the care of Australian patients.

Addressing this issue will have a wide range of benefits for patients, their families and the entire health system. This is critical right now as Australia's healthcare system faces significant pressures at every point of the system. Our hospitals are overrun and ambulance ramping is at record highs in states across the country. Primary care is at a crisis point, with Australians facing record challenges in getting access to affordable GP appointments.

The Albanese government has failed Australians over the past two years, as the cost of going to the doctor has skyrocketed and bulk-billing rates continue to plummet. They have plummeted by 11 per cent. In fact, it has literally never been harder or more expensive to see a doctor. Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that Medicare is covering the lowest percentage of GP fees on record, which means that Australians are paying the highest amount of out-of-pocket costs.

This is having serious consequences as Australians are having to make the difficult choice between going to a GP or paying their bills in the middle of this cost-of-living crisis. That is why, last financial year, we saw 2.4 million fewer GP services provided to Australians. Workforce shortages are also impacting on almost every area of the system. This is an area where the government continues to refuse to take urgent action. There needs to be real and urgent action to ensure that all Australian patients have access to the care that they need, when they need it and where they need it, including by addressing the challenges with affordable and timely access to new medicines and treatments to take some of the pressure off our health system.

This bill also reflects the importance of stockholding requirements as shown by the recent severe medicines shortages that are occurring under this Albanese government's watch. The recent shortage of saline IV fluids in Australia posed a serious risk to the operations of our healthcare system. Saline IV bags are absolutely critical to the emergency health care provided to patients in Australian hospitals, but doctors in every hospital around our nation were told to ration the amount that they were using on their patients.

When asked about this issue in question time last month, Minister Gallagher admitted that the Albanese government had been aware of this impending shortage since May 2023. It was shocking to hear the minister confirm that the government had known about an impending shortage for more than a year and had failed to take any action during that time. The Albanese government refused to show leadership on this national shortage and, instead, lied, deflected and refused to take responsibility. Overseas drug regulators including the FDA, the European Medicines Agency and New Zealand's Pharmac confirmed that they have minimal to no issues with their national supplies.

So the government had more than 12 months notice of an impending shortage, and no other country around the world has experienced supply issues of the same scale as Australia. This was clearly a crisis of the government's own making, and it demonstrates the importance of ensuring we have effective measures in Australia to safeguard Australians' access to essential medications.

The opposition will support this bill, which forms part of an important strategic agreement that the coalition achieved with Australia's medicine industry for the benefit of patients around the country.

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on the National Health Amendment (Technical Changes to Averaging Price Disclosure Threshold and Other Matters) Bill 2024. As the shadow minister has made clear, the coalition does support this bill, but we do raise a number of concerns. As we know, of course, the bill before us today clarifies the operation of the act which relates to designated brands subject to the price disclosure thresholds. So the bill includes only technical amendments which are intended for the avoidance of doubt and do not alter the operation of the existing provisions, which have been in effect since 1 July 2022. The introduction of the 2024 bill follows recent Federal Court action by a generic medicine company. While the Federal Court dismissed the case, this amendment addresses the potential risk that the timing of a price disclosure reduction could be invalid. The coalition will support this bill, because it clarifies the provisions of the 2021 amendment act, which was brought in under the former coalition government and forms part of the important strategic agreements we made with the pharmaceutical industry.

But I don't want there to be any misunderstanding by the Senate. In supporting this bill, we do not support so much of what has happened in the health space for Australians under this government. Australians know that Australia's healthcare system faces very significant pressures at every point. Our hospitals are overrun, ambulance ramping is at record highs in states across the country and primary care is at a crisis point, with Australians facing record challenges in getting access to affordable GP appointments. The Albanese Labor government has failed Australians over the last two years as the cost of going to a doctor has skyrocketed and bulk-billing has plummeted by 11 per cent. In fact, it has literally never been harder or more expensive to see a doctor, and that's even more so in regional Australia and remote parts of this country.

Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that Medicare is covering the lowest percentage of GP fees on record. That means that Australians are paying the highest amount of out-of-pocket costs. When you consider the enormous cost-of-living strains that so many Australians are under right now—the cost of electricity, power, fuel, groceries and the dread of walking to the mailbox and opening up the mail to see another bill—Australians do not need to deal with increased costs of going to the doctor. The costs for patients has risen to the highest level on record. This is having really serious consequences, as Australians are having to make the difficult choice of going to the GP or paying their bills in the middle of this cost-of-living crisis. That is why, last financial year, we saw 2.4 million fewer GP services provided to Australians. Workforce shortages are also impacting almost every area of the system whilst the government refuses to take action.

There needs to be real and urgent action to ensure that all Australian patients have access to the care they need when they need it and where they need it. So, as I say, while we support this bill, we remain deeply concerned about the way that Australians are being let down when it comes to getting critical healthcare they need under the Albanese government.

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The National Health Amendment (Technical Changes to Averaging Price Disclosure Threshold and Other Matters) Bill 2024 amends the National Health Act 1953 to clarify the operation of provisions relating to the PBS pricing and supply arrangements for older and low-cost medicines, referred to as the 'designated brands'. These provisions were introduced through the National Health Amendment (Enhancing the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) Act 2021—the amendment act—that implemented reforms negotiated with the medicines industry through the strategic agreements to improve and guarantee access to medicines for Australian patients. The bill includes technical amendments only, which are intended for avoidance of doubt and are not, therefore, intended to change the operation of the provisions, which have been in effect since 1 July 2022.

These amendments apply retrospectively and prospectively to clarify provisions relating to the 12.5 per cent average, unadjusted price reduction test and the timing of when a brand becomes a designated brand. The amendments are consistent with parliament's intention when it passed the amendment act in 2021, as outlined in the explanatory memorandum to that act, and the overarching policy intent of the price disclosure regime.

The bill will continue to deliver a stronger Medicare and PBS. I commend it to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.