Government pledges to slash medicine prices if re-elected

The Albanese government claims Australians will save $200 million a year under its plan to cut maximum PBS medicine prices from $31.60 to $25.

The promised reduction, set to be announced today, will be revealed in full in next week’s federal budget.

It will take effect from January 1 next year if the government is re-elected.

The Coalition has also said it would match the policy.

An individual could save up to $235 a year under the revised pricing.

However, the announcement comes amid fears Australia’s PBS could become a target in a new round of US tariffs.

Pharmaceutical giants in the US oppose government subsidies and said the PBS is one of several “egregious and discriminatory pricing policies” in a new submission to the White House.

The government and the opposition have both pledged to take the PBS off the table in negotiations over tariffs with the Trump administration.