THE Government is focusing on designing the reinvestment package to mitigate the impact of the 60DD policy, particularly its impact on small rural pharmacies.
The Federal Health Minister Mark Butler revealed this week in Question Time in Parliament that after "a couple of good discussions on this, with the member for Mayo, we are doubling the rural maintenance allowance, which is, essentially, a payment that rural pharmacies receive simply to stay open".
"That will have differential impacts, depending on which part of rural Australia they live in - like the member for Maranoa, for example.
"There are areas where pharmacies will receive an increase from $40,000 in their allowance to $90,000 - a 120% increase in the payments they receive simply to remain open.
"We're still consulting about the final design of the package and I look forward to further discussions."
The double dispensing policy to start on 01 Sep will apply to over 300 PBS meds and will be implemented in three tranches over 12 months.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 15 Jun 23
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 15 Jun 23
