Chronically ill to have prescriptions costs halved

As part of budget measures aimed at relieving cost of living pressures, Health Minister Mark Butler is expected to announce changes to allow patients on medicines for common chronic conditions including heart disease, cholesterol, Crohn disease and hypertension to increase their script refill from one month of supply to two months.

The measure, which builds upon the move from January 1 to cut the maximum medicine co-payment from $42.50 to $30, will effectively halve the co-payment people pay on more than 320 drugs.

The government estimates the change, to come into effect from September 1, will save patients on a medicine that can be prescribed for 60 days up to $180 a year. Concession card holders will save $43.80 a year per medicine.

The $400 million a year measure is expected to halve the amount people with chronic health conditions spend on their medication and cut the number of times they need to see a GP or pharmacist.

Mr Butler said the cut to the medicine co-payment had already saved patients $58 million on 5.1 million prescriptions and the latest change would further reduce their costs.

"This cheaper medicines policy is safe, good for Australians' hip pockets and most importantly good for their health," the minister said.

The change has been welcomed by the Consumers' Health Forum.

It is estimated that each year around 900,000 people delay buying prescribed medicines because they cannot afford it and CHF chief executive Elizabeth Deveny said the government's change would help tackle the problem.

"People should not have to choose between paying the mortgage or buying their medicine," Dr Deveny said.

She said the change was well targeted because people with chronic health problems often struggled to work full-time and did not fare well on other social determinants of health.

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Dr Deveny said people with chronic conditions faced heavy health costs because frequently they were on multiple medications and needed to their doctor frequently.

"This change shows the government is listening to the views of the consumer," she said.

But the opposition aims to increase the pressure on the government over its budget spending.

Opposition treasury spokesman Angus Taylor has called on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to direct an expected revenue windfall from high commodity prices and rates of employment to reduce government debt.

Together with opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume, Mr Taylor called on the government to exercise fiscal restraint, reverse its change to the superannuation earnings tax concession, take "real action" to boost productivity and provide "measured relief" to small businesses and families without adding to inflation.

"Inflation comes from Canberra and Australians are looking for a government that will manage its budget to take pressure off theirs," Mr Taylor said.