ALMOST every single aged-care resident in Australia could be faced with a new cost of at least $800 per year to have their medicine packed and delivered to them if community pharmacy funding cuts begin as planned.
Pharmacists are urging the Albanese Government to pause the implementation of 60-day dispensing to ensure no aged-care resident is negatively affected by this unintended policy consequence.
Medicines are currently packed and delivered to 188,000 aged-care residents each week free, in the form of dose administration aids or Webster-paks, with the cost subsidised by dispensing fees.
New industry and government data shows the free service costs $15.50 per week for each resident, equating to $806 annually.
Aged-care facilities would have to charge patients for the services following a 50 per cent cut in pharmacy dispensing funding.
The Albanese Government is unfairly forcing a huge new cost on aged-care residents because they haven’t consulted and they don’t understand what they are doing.
This will be a crisis for aged care, with our most vulnerable Australians forced to pay for a policy change that doesn’t benefit them.
This unintended consequence shows what happens when the government does not consult with pharmacists.
We are calling on the Albanese Government to pause the rollout of 60-day dispensing, sit down and consult with community pharmacies and aged-care providers to ensure no resident or pharmacy is worse off.
Trent Twomey,
Pharmacy Guild national president
