Nov. 22, 2012, midnight
Audrey Walsh feels like she's one of the lucky ones - her medication to ward off any signs of a stroke is free of charge.
She has an irregular heart beat and needs the preventive treatment to keep her healthy.
But when the 78-year-old first heard she would need a blood thinner, her immediate reaction was: "I don't want rat poison".
The horror stories she had heard about various medications filled her with fear.
"Fortunately I was in the care at the time of a doctor who was aware of an alternative medication, Pradaxa," Mrs Walsh said yesterday.
The Fairy Meadow resident is one of 600 people in the Illawarra who receives the anticoagulant (Dabigatran) free under an early access program.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee in 2011 recommended it be included in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. But so far the federal government has resisted.
"While the PBAC recommended listing Pradaxa, it also raised a number of concerns that require further investigation and assessment," the government health website says.
"Given these concerns and the major cost associated with listing this drug on the PBS, which is estimated could be close to $1 billion over the next four years, the Government has a responsibility to ensure limited health resources are used in the most effective way."
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Call to ensure stroke drug in PBS scheme