PBS spending dropped 0.8%
May 5, 2016
TOTAL government spending on
pharmaceutical benefits in Australia
amounted to $9.07 billion for the
twelve months to 30 Jun 2015, a
decline of 0.8% on the prior year.
The figures were revealed in
Health Department figures released
yesterday, which also confirmed
a 0.8% increase in the volume of
PBS prescriptions dispensed, which
totalled 211.4 million.
Government spending amounted
to 82.7% of the total cost of
PBS prescriptions, with patient
contributions of $1.48 billion -
down from $1.54b the prior year.
The majority of the government
expenditure (77.4%) was directed
towards concessional cardholders
and the average dispensed price
per prescription declined from
$42.20 to $40.52 in 2014/15.
The three drugs with the
highest cost to government were
adalimumab ($313 million),
rosuvastatin ($216 million) and
fluticasone+salmeterol ($177m).
Atorvastatin was the most
frequently dispensed medication,
followed by rosuvastatin and
esomeprazole.
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