Government to introduce legislation for cheaper PBS medicines next week as parliament resumes
Anthony Albanese says he remained focused on delivering cost-of-living relief, which was a key election promise at the May 3 poll which delivered him a whopping 94-seat majority.
The legislation would cut PBS medicine costs to $25 and freeze concession prices at $7.70.
'We want to focus very much on cost-of-living. That was the basis upon which we were elected,' he said on Sunday.
'The size of your bank balance shouldn't determine the quality of your healthcare.
'In the last term, we had a range of measures, and the Coalition opposed all of them.
'This term, we've already had all the changes on July 1: the increase in the minimum wage, the changes that we have made in energy bill relief, the cheaper batteries, the range of measures now, this week, we will have cheaper medicines.
'We said we would make cheaper medicines even cheaper - that is exactly what we are doing.'
It would reduce the maximum cost of PBS medicines by 20 per cent from January 1 next year, which is expected to save Australians over $200 million annually.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the change would make medicines for general patients the cheapest they've been since 2004.
'For pension and concession card holders we've frozen your medicine prices at a maximum price of $7.70 until the end of the decade,' Mr Butler said.
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