Parliament has descended into mayhem after a joke about supplements for middle-aged men had the whole room burst into laughing.
In Question Time on Wednesday, Health Minister Mark Butler promoted the government’s proposal to lower the cost of medications.
He spoke about their morning visit to the Capital Pharmacy in Kingston, a neighbourhood near Canberra’s Parliament House, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The prime minister and I were able to stock up on some of the products and [things] that middle-aged guys like us need to get going every day thanks to Sandra’s fantastic pharmacy, he added.
The whole House of Representatives burst into raucous laughter before Opposition Leader Peter Dutton rose to continue the joke.
“I want to provide our support to hearing more information about what the minister is talking about, what colour the pills are, and how often you take them,” I said. I’m glad to get the specifics,” he stated.
When Speaker Milton Dick prompted Mr. Butler to return to the subject at hand, he said that he would be “glad to have a private discussion with the leader of the opposition.” Seriously.’
medication for erectile dysfunction “Little blue pill” is the moniker given to Viagra.
More chuckles ensued when Madeleine King said, “We are LSD free,” in response to a query on preventing lumpy skin disease in Australian animals.
On Wednesday morning, the government put out new legislation to reduce co-payments for medications covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
If approved by the legislature, it would be the first time in the 75-year history of the programme that the maximum cost of prescriptions will decrease.
On Wednesday, Mr. Butler presented a bill to the legislature that would reduce the maximum co-payment under the plan from $42.50 to $30 per prescription.
He informed parliament that “costs of living are rising and many Australians are making sacrifices on necessities simply to make ends meet.”
“This law will benefit millions of Australians who are struggling with tight family finances.”
With the new regulations, a person using one drug a month might save up to $150 annually, and for two or three prescriptions, $300 to $450.
According to Trent Twomey, president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, making medications more inexpensive would lessen the probability that patients would take less medication than recommended or forgo having their prescription filled at all.
Patients often have to choose who in the family will forego receiving their medications in order to put food on the table or pay their bills, he said, adding that community pharmacists are hearing this from patients more frequently.
This is a significant step in tackling cost-of-living constraints, in addition to broadening access to medications.
The initiative is projected to reduce annual out-of-pocket expenses by close to $200 million.
The amendments would go into effect starting in January 2023, and the plan was a Labor election campaign pledge.