Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Minister, how is the Albanese Labor government making medicines cheaper for Australians? How is this helping to ease cost-of-living pressures after a decade of cuts and neglect to health care?

Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Lingiari. She knows this is an important day because every taxpayer in her electorate gets a tax cut today, like a registered nurse working at the Alice Springs Hospital, who gets a tax cut of almost $1,600 or about twice what they would have received under the former government's plan, or a hospital orderly at Alice Springs, who will get a tax cut of almost $1,200 or more than three times what they would have received under the former government. The member for Lingiari also knows that we need to do more. That's why she promised her electorate at the last election that we would make medicines cheaper, and we've been busy over the last two years delivering on that promise.

In just our first three months, we slashed the maximum amount that millions of pensioners would pay for their medicines each year by 25 per cent. In our first 12 months, we delivered the biggest cut to the price of medicines in the 75-year history of the PBS. In our first 18 months, we finally allowed doctors to prescribe common medicines for chronic conditions for a 60-day supply, not just 30, saving patients time and saving them even more money. Today, we're freezing the price of PBS medicines for up to five years to deliver even more help with the cost of living. Already, our cheaper medicines policies have saved patients well over $400 million at the chemist, and those savings will grow every single month. But the price freeze alone will save patients almost half a billion dollars more. We've also made more than 200 new and expanded listings to the PBS, making sure that Australian patients have access to the best available medicines at affordable prices.

Today, I'm delighted to announce that we're extending the cancer drug listing LYNPARZA to early breast cancer patients with a germline BRCA mutation. Sarah Powell, who is the CEO of Pink Hope, a well-known breast cancer charity, welcomed this listing and said this:

There has long been a need for a targeted medicine to treat BRCA-mutated early breast cancer patients …

…   …   …

… these patients are usually young and in the prime of their life—contributing to the community, active members of the workforce and often raising young children and caring for ageing parents, too.

I'm advised that about 300 patients will benefit from this listing and, without the listing, they'd be paying an extraordinary $69,000 for this wonderful medicine, this life-saving medicine. This listing, one of 200 we've made over the past two years, proves again that cheaper medicines aren't just good for helping with the cost of living; it also saves lives.