New drugs push up PBS spending

New drugs and more demand for existing medicines are the main drivers for increased spending on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), Health Minister Tanya Plibersek says.

Ms Plibersek says a government report co-authored with Medicines Australia released on Monday, Trends in and Drivers of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Expenditure, shows PBS spending rose by $500 million a year to reach $8.9 billion in 2010-11 financial year.

''This new report confirms growth in PBS spending is lower than forecast, as taxpayers reap the benefits of 2010 legislation which is bringing government subsidies for medicines into line with prices pharmacists pay their suppliers, saving $2 billion over the (four-year) forward estimates,'' she said.

The report showed the ageing population and more people with chronic disease were placing pressures on spending for subsidised prescription drugs to Australian residents, Ms Plibersek said.

Advertisement

''More than half of PBS spending goes to people aged over 65 years old, with 86 per cent of PBS expenditure going to concessional patients who pay just $5.90 a prescription,'' she said.

The minister said that many of the report's findings contradict a separate report released by Medicines Australia last week, which she said had errors, inaccuracies and selected statistics.

Medicines Australia, the lobby group for pharmaceutical companies, said in its 2013 federal election document that patients were missing out on new medicines due to the difficultly of listing on the PBS system.

''We have now reached the point where companies are simply unable to make some new treatments available on the PBS,'' chief executive Brendan Shaw said.

Dr Shaw said the process for PBS subsidy was becoming more difficult, more complicated and more unpredictable.

Visit link:
New drugs push up PBS spending