Items which are subsidised by the Government under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) are charged at different prices depending on the type of benefit card a customer may have.
There are three different levels under the PBS.
The first is called General patients. These are customers with a Medicare card, but no other benefit cards (i.e. no pension card or concession card). These customers must pay up to the first $30.60 before the Government begins to subsidise their medicines.
The second is Concession patients. These are customers who are on a health care card, pension card, Veterans’ affairs card or safety net concession card. These patients pay the first $6.70 of a prescription and the Government subsidises the rest.
The third is the Safety Net Entitlement patients. When a concession patient has spent $277.20 on government subsidised medications in the calendar year they will receive a Safety Net Card and be entitled to the Safety Net pricing for the remainder of the year.
The private price you see on most prescription medications is the price with no Government subsidy.
NB Additional charges may apply over and above these if a patient elects to receive a more expensive brand.
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