Warnings the cost of medicines will rise for aged care residents if planned dispensing changes go ahead have been blasted as "rubbish" by the health minister.
Under changes from September 1, up to six million people will be able to buy two months' worth of subsidised medicines with a single prescription, rather than a one-month supply.
The change would apply to more than 300 medicines, including treatments for conditions such as heart disease, cholesterol, Crohn’s disease and hypertension, saving people hundreds of dollars a year.
The policy was estimated to save the government $1.2 billion over the next four years, with that money to be reinvested into community pharmacy health programs.
But the peak body representing pharmacies warned almost every aged care resident would face an extra $800 cost per year to have their medicine packed and delivered.
Pharmacy Guild national president Trent Twomey said this was because facilities would need to charge patients for the service, which was previously free, to cover the 50 per cent cut to pharmacy dispensing funding.
"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," he said.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the guild was attempting to frighten aged care residents into thinking they would need to pay extra through a "cynical scare campaign".
"This idea of a new fee or a new tax on aged care residents is just rubbish," he told reporters in Canberra.
"It ignores the reality of aged care funding arrangements and seeks to instil fear in some of our most vulnerable members of the community."
Independent MP Monique Ryan, former director of neurology at the Royal Children’s Hospital, backed the dispensing changes as a good policy to address cost of living challenges.
But fellow independent Sophie Scamps, who was a GP before entering politics, said the government needed to ensure community pharmacies were viable.
"People are having to make that choice about whether they can afford their medications or asking the pharmacist which one they could possibly not use this week or this month (due to costs)," she said.
"Anything we can do to increase compliance and lower the price of medications for people is a good idea but at the same time, we need to make sure we look after our community pharmacies."
