Australians pay less for meds
July 26, 2012
CONSUMERS are benefiting from
a big fall in the price that they pay
for medicines, according to inflation
figures released today by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
measuring the Consumer Price
Index (CPI).
Commenting on the figures,
Medicines Australia Chief Executive
Dr Brendan Shaw, said that the fall
indicated “that the Memorandum of
Understanding between Medicines
Australia and the Government for
the Pharmaceutical Benefits
Scheme is working”.
The figures, according to
Medicines Australia, show that in
2012 the pharmaceutical price
component of the CPI had one of
its biggest falls in the June quarter
since modern records began.
As such, the ABS figures showed
that the prices consumers pay for
medicines fell by 1.7% in the June
quarter.
“Expanded and Accelerated Price
Disclosure, which was introduced
as part of the MoU, drove
significant reductions in the prices
consumers pay for medicines on 1
April this year,” said Shaw.
“The ABS itself has flagged that
the effects of these cuts on 1 April
would have been included in the
June quarter pharmaceutical price
component of the CPI figures,” he
added, saying that the figures prove
that the MoU is delivering cheaper
medicines for Australians nationwide.
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