PBS increase to strain Budget

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has revealed the Budget will take a big hit from increased spending on the PBS over the next four years but Medicines Australia (MA) is keeping its powder dry by waiting for the details to be revealed in the Budget next Tuesday before commenting.

"We do have some major pressures coming at us from the PBS, from indexation, from natural disasters and from higher yields on debt," Chalmers said at a press conference. "All of that together adds up to tens of billions of dollars in pressures."

New and amended PBS listings will add an extra $6.0 billion to the Government's bill over the five years starting in 2025-26, according to numbers released by Chalmers to underline the "biggest spending pressures" on the Budget. Some of the PBS spending will be clawed back by tackling PBS fraud.