Prescription changes

From the 1st of January 2016 pharmacies have been able to discount the patient copayment for PBS subsidised medicines by a maximum of $1. My Chemist is proud to continue to pass this discount onto our patients.

Through the PBS, Medicare card holders, concession card holders, DVA card holders and Safety Net card holders pay a set fee, known as a patient co-payment. In 2024 this fee is $31.60 for general patients (who hold a valid Medicare card), $7.70 for concession and DVA card holders and $0.00 for Safety Net card holders excluding any applicable price premiums or special patient contributions.

With the $1 discount, My Chemist will only charge general patients a maximum of $30.60 and concession patients a maximum of $6.70 excluding any applicable price premiums or special patient contributions.

Will My Chemist continue to discount the patient contribution?

Of course! My Chemist will pass on the maximum permissible discount on all our medicines. Where possible My Chemist has ALWAYS discounted every prescription for every Australian.

Unfortunately, before 1 January 2016 we were prohibited from discounting the patient co-payments on PBS prescriptions. But now we can! From now on we can proudly proclaim that we discount EVERY prescription, for everyone, every day.

So how does this discounting affect a patient regarding the PBS Safety Net?

The PBS Safety Net is a set dollar amount of money that you need to spend in a calendar year to be able to have your prescriptions even further subsidised. It is triggered when a general patient spends $1647.90 or a concessional patient spends $277.20 in a calendar year.

Discounting your medicines by $1 has no effect on the Safety Net. You will need to spend the exact same dollar value regardless of whether your medicines are discounted or not.