The Morrison Government has delivered on its election commitment, significantly lowering the threshold for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Safety Net from 1 January 2020.
This means from today, more than 1.6 million concesional and general patients will get earlier access each year to free or significanrly cheaper PBS medicines.
The PBS Safety Net eases the financial burden on Australians who spend significant amounts on PBS medicines, such as people with chronic conditions.
Once people reach the safety net threshold, they can apply to get free or discounted PBS medications for the remainder of the calendar year.
The safety net thresholds have been lowered from:
- $390.00 to $316.80 for concessional patients.
- $1550.70 to $1486.80 for general patients.
The changes mean concessional patients will need to get 12 fewer scripts filled in a year in order to reach the PBS Safety Net, and two fewer scripts for general patients.
These changes are only possible because of the Morrison Government's strong economic management.
PBS Safety Net application and recordkeeping forms can be found on the Department of Human Services website at https://www.humanservices.gov.au
