Better deal for consumers on medicine prices
Consumers will welcome any measure that delivers cheaper medicines and makes our health system more sustainable, executive director of the Consumers Health Forum, Carol Bennett says.
Ms Bennett was speaking before the start of a Senate Inquiry into a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and Medicines Australia which promises to bring savings of $1.9 billion to the taxpayer-funded Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) over the next five years and provide cheaper medicines as well as quicker access to new medicines.
She said that health consumers support this agreement because of the significant benefits in terms of access, reduced prices to medicines and cost savings to the PBS.
However Australian manufacturers of generic medicines have taken out full page advertisements criticising the decision.
