ADJOURNMENT
Mr REPACHOLI (Hunter) (16:34): Almost $1 million has already gone back into the pockets of people across the Hunter because of cheaper medicines. Since the Albanese Labor government reduced the general PBS co-payment to just $25, people in my electorate have saved $951,097 at the pharmacy counter. By the end of August, that figure will have passed $1 million.
This is real money staying in the pockets of people across Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Huntlee, Singleton, Cameron Park, Toronto, Wyee and communities right across the Hunter. This is money that can go towards groceries, electricity bills, petrol, school expenses, mortgages and holidays. Without the action of this government, PBS medicines would be costing Australians more than $50 today.
Instead, they cost just $25. When I talk to people across the Hunter, they tell me exactly what that means. Stephen from Cessnock described the $25 PBS co-payment as a godsend.
Jenny from Cessnock West is on multiple medications while managing cervical cancer, breast cancer, endometriosis and a pacemaker. For Jenny, that saving is multiplied across every medication she needs. Michelle is a mum with three kids who have a range of health conditions.
Her family can need eight different medications every month before even counting antibiotics. Michelle told me that paying $25 for those medicines has meant she can afford better food for her kids. That is what this policy is about.
It's about making sure no parent has to stand at the pharmacy counter wondering whether filling a prescription means cutting back on the grocery shop. Joe told me he had previously stopped taking some of his medications because he simply couldn't afford them. But, since medications came down to $25, he has now been able to get all of his essential medications again.
Hazel, who lives with COPD, emphysema, asthma and severe arthritis, told me that cheaper medicines are helping her afford the medications she needs to breathe and to keep doing the things that she loves. These are the stories behind the savings in the Hunter. Our local pharmacists see this difference every single day.
People like Tim at Cessnock Day Night Pharmacy are on the front line of health care in our community. It's the same for Kurt at Piggotts Pharmacy at Huntlee. I caught up with Kurt recently, and we spoke about the impact that cheaper medicines are having locally and the important role pharmacists play in keeping people healthy and out of hospital.
That is particularly important when we talk about men's health. We know blokes can be reluctant to go to the doctor. They can put things off.
They delay getting something checked or even put off filling a prescription. Men across the Hunter have already saved more than $400,000 because of the reduction in the general PBS co-payment. Making medicines cheaper helps men stay on their prescribed treatments and gets more people through the doors of their local pharmacy, where they can talk to a trusted professional.
As pharmacists are empowered to work to their full scope of practice, those visits can also mean health checks, vaccinations and preventive care. Cheaper medicines are also making a difference for women. As part of this government's $792.9 million women's health package, expanded PBS listings mean women can access treatments like Yaz, Yasmin, Estrogel, Estrogel Pro and Ryeqo for just $25.
Affordable medicines are good cost-of-living policy, but they are also good health policy. When people can afford their medication, they see their pharmacists regularly and they can stop getting conditions that become more serious. That means healthier people and less pressure on our local GPs and hospital emergency departments.
The message is the same everywhere I go. When I was in Tassie recently with Assistant Minister Ged Kearney and the member for Braddon, Anne Urquhart, I caught up with Joe from Westside Pharmacy in Ulverstone, who told me $25 medicines are making a real difference there as well. Whether it's Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Singleton, Cameron Park, Toronto, Wyee or communities right across the Hunter, cheaper medicines are helping people.
They are helping people managing cancer, parents caring for sick kids, pensioners managing chronic illnesses and blokes who might otherwise put their health off for another day. Nearly $1 million has been saved in the Hunter. The $25 PBS co-payment is simple, practical and helping people get that right now.
Most importantly, it means fewer Aussies are being forced to choose between filling an essential prescription and paying for the other things that their family needs. Thank you to all the pharmacists in the Hunter. Thank you for what you do for employment in our area.
And thank you for keeping people in the Hunter in good health. Thank you for all you do. Cheers.