Medicine pledges could cost you more

JUST six of the nation’s 50 top-selling medicines will get cheaper after the election despite both major parties promising to cut prices.

And patients who shop at discount chemists could find the cost of at least five of the most commonly prescribed drugs rise by up to $17, a News Corp analysis has found.

The Coalition has promised to cut prescription prices by $10 after the election and Labor by $12.50, but very few patients will actually benefit from these price cuts.

For a general patient to benefit from these cuts, their medicine has to cost more than $32.50 in the case of the Coalition or $30 in the case of Labor.

A Pharmacy Guild analysis found only 12 per cent of medicines on the PBS cost more than $30. And Guild president Trent Twomey has claimed the Liberal Party’s $10 cut would only help 3 per cent of patients.

News Corp checked the price of the 50 most prescribed medicines and found just six of them – antidepressant Escitalopram, blood thinners Apixaban and Rivaroxaban, asthma medicines Fluticasone propionate/Salmeterol and Budesonide/formoterol and pain medication Oxycodone/ Naloxone – would get cheaper.

The price of the other 44 most commonly prescribed medicines will not be cheaper. Most cost $19-$23 at a suburban pharmacy and as little as $5.99 at discount chemists.

But we did find that the price of five medicines could rise under the policies, depending on their dosage level. These include pain medication pregabalin, antidepressant desvenlafaxine, thyroid drug Levothyroxine, pain medication Oxycodone/Naloxone and some liquid forms of asthma treatment Salbutamol.