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Whoever takes on the mantle of Health Minister in the 46th Federal Parliament will have a full reform agenda to prosecute. The return of the incumbent LNP means Budget 2019/20, as presented in early April, should be rolled out. In terms of health, the focus was on continuing initiatives to progress the four pillars* of the Coalition’s […]
The statistic is startling: between 2018 and 2040, global cancer mortality will increase by 63% due to demographic changes alone. The bulk of this impact is projected to be experienced by low and middle income countries as their, generally much larger, populations age and economic development moves the cancer mix profile closer to those observed in […]
Cancer Australia continues to develop the National Cancer Control Indicators (NCCI) resource with a new data release presenting population-level national data on relative survival by stage at diagnosis for the 5-year period 2011-2016 for Australia’s highest incidence cancers. The data is available by age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES) and location. The findings confirm that outcomes for […]
At the time of federation in 1901, health was not a public policy topic. The new Australian Constitution granted the Commonwealth responsibility for quarantine, under s 51(ix) and for ‘invalid and old age pensions’ under s 51(xxiii). However, by 1945 the situation had changed, with health firmly on the political agenda. Consolidation of the welfare state principle […]
Over 30% of all prescriptions written in Australia for PBS-listed medicines are self-funded as they cost less than the relevant Co-payment (under co-pay). General patients (co-pay $40.30, 1 Jan 2019) are the sole recipients of this cost-shifting as the dispensing fee ($7.29) is greater than the Concessional co-pay amount ($6.50). So why do the 8% […]
Like it or not, product and service providers to the PBS are in competition. The winners and losers during development and roll-out of the 2015 PBS Access and Sustainability Package (PASP) left no doubt about that. A collaborative approach within the sector, to increase the size of the currently diminishing pie, will be more sustainable […]
Using a pie analogy for Australia Federal Government spend on the Pharmaceutical and Repatriation Benefits Schemes in 2017-18, the impact of rebates is clear with approximately $1 in 5 paid out as benefits for medicines, ultimately returning to Treasury. The total $2.36 billion in rebates was repaid wholly by innovator manufacturers on the basis of […]
The long-term impact of 2007 PBS reforms are clearly evident when comparing patient categories by proportion of services and benefits. The introduction of separate formularies for single (F1) and multiple brand (F2) drugs plus successive price disclosure initiatives have fundamentally altered the structure of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Despite ongoing increases in Concessional ordinary […]
Last financial year (2017-18) the average benefit paid by the Australian Government per subsidised PBS/RPBS service was approximately AU $60 (1). However, separation of payments by therapeutic area (see graph) reveals a startling two-tier PBS with the majority of areas experiencing little growth in benefit paid since 1992-93, contrasted by those with consistent or dramatic […]
Extrapolating historical cost data, total Government expenditure on the PBS in 2030 is predicted to range from AU$11.5 to $14.5 billion. The linear model based on actual PBS/RPBS expenditure after rebates in real terms (2017 $) from 1992-93 to 2017-18 (first graph) predicts a 2029-30 total cost of $14,400 m. This approach does incorporate the impact of […]