Guild slams CHF, CHOICE
August 20, 2013
The Pharmacy Guild has blasted
a “disgraceful campaign” which
has been launched today by the
Consumers Health Forum, CHOICE
and ACOSS, saying it “seeks to
quite deliberately mislead the
public about recent changes to the
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme”.
The three groups have attacked
the petition being circulated
through community pharmacies
across the country, alleging that
pharmacists are deliberately
pushing for political parties to
“back away” from the price
disclosure mechanism for PBS-listed
medicines.
According to a Guild statement
this is a “deliberate untruth”.
“We have not asked for the price
disclosure mechanism for PBS
medicines, announced two days
before the Federal Election with no
consultation, to be reversed,” the
Guild said.
“Nor are we asking patients
to pay a cent more for scripts.
Pharmacists - like everyone in the
healthcare industry - want patients
and consumers to be able to access
essential medicines at an affordable
price,” the statement added.
The Guild says it supports the
objectives of price disclosure and
cheaper prescription medicines,
and has worked closely with
government over many years to
achieve that.
“No one is contributing more
to keeping medicine prices in
check through price disclosure
than Australia’s 5,300 community
pharmacies.
“However unless pharmacists
are paid adequately to dispense
medicines, patients will lose out
through reduced services and
opening hours, jobs will be lost, and
some pharmacies may be forced to
close,” the Guild said.
“This is clearly not in the interests
of Australia’s REAL consumers who
know the value of community
pharmacy from the 300 million
visits they make to their local
pharmacies...every year”.
MEANWHILE the Consumers
Health Forum has achieved strong
exposure for its ‘Stand Up for
Cheaper Medicines’ campaign, with
CHF ceo Carol Bennett appearing
on the Channel 7 Sunrise show
today focusing on the high prices
Australians pay for medicines.
The CHF, ACOSS and Choice are
“bluntly warning individuals and
families in Australia” that prices for
pharmaceuticals here are up to ten
times those paid in Britain.
The campaign urges consumers
and political parties to support
the PBS disclosure policy which
sees savings on price reductions
passed onto taxpayers “rather than
to pharmacy owners,” saying they
should “not support the union
representing pharmacy owners, The
Pharmacy Guild, in calling for a $150
million taxpayer compensation
scheme to pharmacy owners”.
The organisations claim that up to
15% of people now struggle to pay
for prescriptions, and rather than
signing the Pharmacy Guild petition
are calling on people to email
candidates via a special campaign
website which can be accessed at
ourhealth.good.do.
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