High medication costs forcing some people go without

The study found one-in-five lower income Australians did not get prescribed medication because they could not afford them.

Pharmaceutical Guild of Australia national president Professor Trent Twomey, said people were finding it harder to afford essential medicines.

"I see mothers in my pharmacy forced to choose which child gets the medicines prescribed by the doctor, or not filling their own scripts because there's nothing left in the budget," he said

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"What that means is that people are increasingly finding themselves having to choose between buying the medicines they need and other non-discretionary purchases like rent, groceries and petrol."

The study found a low-income family with chronic conditions could pay up to $1600 per year for medication, while individuals with chronic conditions such as diabetes could pay about $120 a month.

Pharmacy Guild of Australia Tasmanian vice-president John Dowling said the issues were of particular concern to people on a low income but were unable to obtain a concession card.

"People who don't qualify for a concession card don't get them for $6.80, they are having to pay the general co-payment which is now $42.50," he said.

"Every day we'll have somebody come in and they might be getting three or four prescriptions, they might be paying well over $100."

Mr Dowling said in some cases people were being forced to choose which medication they should buy and forgo others, which could led to poor health outcomes and increased strain on the public health system.

"It's not ideal for their health long term and it's not ideal for the health system long term," he said.

"If people are not taking up their blood pressure medication, and they have a stroke that's far more expensive on the health system than if they had treated it in the first place."

Mr Dowling said the issue was compounded by Tasmania's ageing population and high rates of chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart conditions which were some of the conditions most commonly impacted.

The study found the underlying problem was the general co-payment under the pharmaceutical benefit scheme of $41.50 was out of reach for many Australians.

Mr Dowling said reducing the cost of the PBS to about $19 would improve access to medicines for many low income earners.