Australian PBS reform will cost consumers

Reforms to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) currently being debated in Federal Parliament could result in consumers paying more for drugs.

Tom Faunce, senior lecturer at the Australian National University's College of Medicine and Health Science, has warned that "a crucial clause in the legislation was so vaguely worded it gave the makers of patented drugs more room to argue the price of their drug should not be referenced to a comparative drug. This could force up prices for patented medicines, potentially hitting consumers' hip pockets."

Reference pricing could also damage the generics sector