On 1 January, for the first time in more than 25 years, the maximum amount people pay for PBS medicines didn't rise with inflation for all Australians, as consumers saved $1.1 billion from cheaper medicines.
Instead of increasing by 20 cents for concession cardholders and 90 cents for everyone else, maximum PBS copayments will remain at their current rate of $31.60 until the end of 2025, and at $7.70 until the end of 2029 for concession cardholders.
PBS copayments usually increase with indexation on 1 January, in line with the Consumer Price Index. This increases the maximum copayment paid to fill a PBS prescription for both patient types: concession cardholders and general patients (people without a concession card).
PBS copayments have increased every January since January 1997, except for two years when copayments didn't increase for a subset of patients:
- In January 2021, indexation was paused for concession cardholders only.
- In January 2023, the Albanese Government made the largest ever cut to the cost of PBS medicines by reducing the general patient copayment from $42.50 to $30.
The freeze on indexation of PBS copayments is estimated to save Australians almost half a billion dollars, on top of the $1.1 billion in cheaper medicines savings the Albanese Government has already delivered, through:
- the largest cut to the price of medicines in PBS history in January 2023,
- reducing the Safety Net threshold by 25 per cent in July 2022, and
- 60-day prescriptions saving millions of Australians time and money.
Many more pensioners and concession cardholders have become eligible for free PBS medicines since the Safety Net threshold was reduced by 25 per cent. Since July 2022, 66 million prescriptions have been issued for free and without any cost to patients, because of that lower Safety Net threshold.
Cheaper medicines savings, by state (as at 31 Nov 2024)
- ACT - $22 million
- NSW - $348 million
- NT - $5 million
- QLD - $219 million
- SA - $81 million
- TAS - $27 million
- VIC - $277 million
- WA - $119 million
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
"Our hard-fought reforms are delivering cheaper medicines to millions of Australians - already saving them $1.1 billion in out-of-pocket costs.
"In just two years, we've delivered more doctors, more bulk billing and opened 87 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.
"These changes are making a real difference to millions of Australians, but we know there's more to do to keep strengthening Medicare. Labor created Medicare and has defended it for 40 years."
"Freezing the maximum PBS copayment for every Australian will ensure our cheaper medicines stay cheaper, delivering an estimated half a billion dollars in additional patient savings."
