Sat 27th Feb 2016

By: Dr Tim WoodruffPresident0401 042 619

Published in smh on Saturday, February 27, 2016

It’s great to see the Minister for Health, Sussan Ley, asking why prostheses such as hip replacements and pacemakers cost so much more than world market prices in the private system (“Prosthetic procedure cost disparity targeted“, February 26).

It would be even better if she could explain why the government, using our taxes, pays 10 times as much for cholesterol-lowering drugs than in New Zealand or Britain, and 30 times as much for breast cancer drugs than in Britain.

Research by the Grattan Institute has found that the government could save $1 billion a year if it paid world market prices for pharmaceuticals. Neither the government nor the opposition seem prepared to challenge the pharmaceutical industry. Could it relate to the $300,000 or so that both parties receive in donations each year from the industry?

An extra $1 billion could mean that the freeze on the Medicare rebate could be removed to prevent the loss of bulk billingand other cuts to the public health system could be rescinded.

Tim Woodruff