Distributional impact of higher patient contributions to Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Drug Policy Down Under: Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

Australia has had a government subsidized universal system of pharmaceutical provision for 50 years. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) consumes around 14 percent of total government health care expenditures and has grown substantially in both range of drugs covered, and expenditure since it was first introduced in 1950. It incorporates patient copayments (with differentials for the gener...

Barrier to trade or barrier to profit? Why Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme worries U.S. drug companies.

Australia's pharmaceutical benefits system: flawed but improving, and better than anywhere else.

The composition and role of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) has been the subject of acrimonious debate through the media in recent months, with accusations of government subjugation to strong industry lobby groups at the future expense of the Australian taxpayer. An understanding of the issues at this more political level is helped by appreciation of the rationale for the ...

Evidence-based decision-making within Australia's pharmaceutical benefits scheme.

In Australia, most prescription drugs are subsidized through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), one of several government programs in which evidence-based decision making is applied to the funding of health technologies. PBS processes are intended to ensure "value for money" for the Australian taxpayer and to support affordable, equitable access to prescription medicines; they are not in...

Are Australia's drugs too cheap for our own good?

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) plays an important role in controlling the drugs that are available at subsidised prices under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). In brief, the Committee provides advice on whether a new drug is sufficiently cost-effective to merit its being added to the PBS. Listing is important to the drug manufacturers, because it has a beneficial ...