Eight-year wait for medicine subsidy

AUSTRALIANS are waiting more than eight years to get access to subsidised lifesaving medicines, of which more than 23 are already available to patients in other countries.

The crisis has forced patients to raid their superannuation and rely on charity to fund their health care.

Doctors have warned Australian patients are dying earlier than they should because of the delays, with health consumer groups calling on both Labor and the Morrison government to commit to address the issue.

Leading haematologist Professor Andrew Spencer told a parliamentary inquiry the survival of Australian patients with multiple myeloma was half that of patients overseas because our access to drugs was so slow.

Patients with metastatic bowel cancer have been waiting since 2014 for a subsidy for the treatment Stivarga.

Both major parties were asked to give an iron-clad commitment to subsidise every medicine recommended by PBAC and queried what they would do to speed up access to subsidised medicine.

A spokesperson for Health Minister Greg Hunt said the Coalition “are committed to continue to list all medicines approved by the medical expert panel, unlike Labor who stopped the medicines last time they were in power”.

“Under the Coalition government, we have more than halved the time taken to list a brand new medicine from 312 to 141 days,” the spokesman said

Opposition health spokesman Mark Butler said it was a Labor Government that introduced the PBS and it would always protect and strengthen it.

“Under Labor every drug recommended by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee will be listed,” he said.

“It’s not good enough that under this Prime Minister Australians have had to wait in some cases years to access lifesaving medicines on the PBS,” he said.