The number of under co-payment scripts continues to increase with about 90 million supplied in 2017-18 – mostly for antibiotics, antidepressants and statins
From 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018, 89.5 million under co-payment prescriptions were supplied under the PBS and RPBS, according to latest data.
This data was collected from both community pharmacies and public and private hospitals.
Under co-payment prescriptions are those priced below the co-payment, while subsidised medicines are those priced over co-payment.
During 2018 the general co-payment was $39.50, with a concessional co-payment of $6.40 – i.e. the amount of contribution paid by patients towards PBS/RPBS medicines.
Meanwhile in 2017 the general co-payment was $38.80 and concessional co-payment $6.30.
In comparison to the latest data, from 2016-2017 under co-payment scripts numbered 85 million.
And from 2015-2016, under co-payment scripts were 81.4 million.
From 2017-18, the most common under co-payment medicines were as follows:
- Amoxicillin/Amoxicillin+Clavulanic Acid – 5.6 million scripts
- Rosuvastatin – 4 million
- Atorvastatin – 3.2 million
- Cefalexin – 2.7 million
- Perindopril – 2.4 million
- Escitalopram – 2.3 million
- Irbesartan/ Irbesartan+Hydrochlorothiazide – 2.1 million
- Sertraline – 2 million
- Pantoprazole – 2 million
- Metformin – 1.6 million
- Paracetamol+Codeine – 1.5 million
The collection of PBS/RPBS under co-payment prescription data was agreed to under the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement (5CPA) and announced in the 2010-11 Budget.
Collection of this data for PBS and RPBS commenced on 1 April 2012.
From 2012-2013 – the first year that data was collected – under co-payment scripts numbered 62 million.
This is the bureaucracies dastardly plan. As the number of scripts dispensed below the general patient co-payment grows discounting grows.This will inevitably lead to the death of the small single owner pharmacy in the cities.
Its worse than just that for the next cpa. Most pharmacies make less profit when they dispense under co pay prescriptions than they do claimable ones even if they offer the $1 discount. Why would medicare pay more than they need to.
It is time for the government to delist all the items that can be sold at concession price at discount stores.
It is interesting to mention that the Government has set the guild up and the next CPA will be the worst for the pharmacy owners.
It is time for pharmacy owners and Guild members to think of pharmacy without CPA.
I thought “the profession” would be pleased that many older but still valuable products had dropped in price which is in the interest of the consumers as well as the tax payer.
This frees up funds for newer and important new products to be listed.
Maybe it is time for the supermarkets to be allowed to serve the public.
We are pleased that medications are more affordable than they ever have been. What we are not happy with is that some in ” the profession” use prescription pricing as a lost leader