Pharmacy Daily | Closing the Gap payments

AFFORDABLE healthcare for more Australians was highlighted in yesterday's Federal Budget, with funds allocated to services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Budget confirmed an $8.5 billion healthcare package which included key commitments such as $1.2 billion to bolster Medicare and $137.3 million to improve medicine access and aged care services for First Nations people.

There is also a substantial increase in hospital funding, with the Australian Government set to contribute at least an additional $13 billion to state public hospitals over the next decade, raising its care contribution to 45%.

The Budget also expands the Closing the Gap PBS Co-payment Program with an additional $11.1 million, ensuring more equitable healthcare delivery.

The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia President Tom Simpson, expressed his approval for the Budget measures, noting the timely nature of PBS co-payment relief amidst rising cost-of-living pressures that "will improve medicines access and compliance for all Australians".

"On behalf of our members, we welcome the Federal Government's response to our advocacy by extending the Closing the Gap PBS Co-payment Program to public hospital pharmacies, thus supporting patients as they transition through the health system," Simpson said.

An additional $190 million is allocated to strengthen Medicare, supporting earlier hospital discharges and aiding older Australians with short-term recovery care through the expanded Transition Care Program.

Simpson emphasised the importance of including pharmacists with advanced specialty skills in these programs and expressed optimism about the ongoing negotiations towards a landmark hospital agreement and Pharmaceutical Reform Agreement with NSW and ACT, aimed at resolving disparities in medicine access upon hospital discharge.

"Increased hospital funding is always welcome, but we must also address the glaring issue that people leaving hospital in NSW and ACT are the only patients not receiving PBS subsidised medicines to take home," said Simpson.

"Finalising this agreement will bring NSW and ACT in line with the rest of the country and ensure safer discharges and and transitions of care, as well as ease the reliance on our primary healthcare systems," Simpson concluded. JG