Pharmacy Daily | PBS sustainability

There’s been a surge recently in evidence of the long term sustainability of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, underpinned by responsible contributions from pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sector. Last week’s Federal Budget confirmed the significant impact that PBS price reforms are having on PBS expenditure, delivering the Government an additional $2.5 billion saving over four years. The goods news on the PBS is outlined in the Medicines Partnership of Australia PBS Scorecard – available at medicinespartnership.com.au Expenditure on pharmaceuticals as a percentage of GDP is now expected to decline every year between 2012-13 and 2016-17. The pharmaceutical and pharmacy sectors certainly are doing their bit to maintain the affordability of the PBS. This week there was further confirmation of the savings being reaped by Government with the publication by Medicines Australia of a study titled The Impact of further PBS Reforms. It found the current reforms agreed between the Government and Medicines Australia will deliver up to $18 billion in savings by 2017-18. The report shows the reforms agreed between Government and industry, are saving taxpayers many billions of dollars on established medicines.

---

The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 21 May 13
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 21 May 13