THE Pharmacy Guild has responded swiftly to New Limited articles published earlier this week which claimed "greedy chemists" are forcing patients to pay more by denying them the optional $1 discount on PBS prescription copayments.
The Guild has in the past noted that offering the $1 discount simply means patients reach the safety net threshold more slowly, with the net effect the same.
In this latest stoush, Guild executive director David Quilty has written to the editors of the various newspapers, saying the claims by reporter Sue Dunlevy are incorrect.
"On the contrary, pharmacies are working in partnership with the Federal Government to deliver very large medicine price reductions of 50% or more through PBS reforms.
"The low take-up of the optional $1 discount simply reflects the fact that the sickest patients understand there is no net benefit for them as it means they take longer to reach their PBS Safety Net," Quilty wrote.
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