Impact of cost of medicines for chronic conditions on low income households in Australia
Objectives: To determine the cost of medicines for selected chronic illnesses and the proportion of discretionary income this would potentially displace for households with different pharmaceutical subsidy entitlements and incomes. Methods: We analysed household income and expenditure data for 9,774...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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The Royal Society Medicine Press Ltd
2013
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| Online Access: | http://jhsrp.rsmjournals.com/content/18/1/21.full.pdf http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30314 |
| _version_ | 1848753053821304832 |
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| author | Kemp, A. Preen, D. Glover, J. Semmens, James Roughead, E. |
| author_facet | Kemp, A. Preen, D. Glover, J. Semmens, James Roughead, E. |
| author_sort | Kemp, A. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Objectives: To determine the cost of medicines for selected chronic illnesses and the proportion of discretionary income this would potentially displace for households with different pharmaceutical subsidy entitlements and incomes. Methods: We analysed household income and expenditure data for 9,774 households participating in two Australian surveys in 2009–10. The amount of ‘discretionary’ income available to households after basic living and health care expenditure was modelled for households with high pharmaceutical subsidies: pensioner and non-pensioner concessional (social security entitlements); and households with general pharmaceutical subsidies and low, middle or high incomes. We calculated the proportion of discretionary income that would be needed for medicines if one household member had diabetes or acute coronary syndrome, or if one member also had two co-existing illnesses (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and depression, or asthma and osteoarthritis).Results: Pensioner and low income households had little discretionary income after basic living and health care expenditure (AUD$92 and $164/week, respectively). Medicines for the specified illnesses ranged from $11–$42/month for high subsidy households and $34–$186/month for low subsidy households. Costs reduced substantially once patients reached the annual pharmaceutical cap (safety net), prior to which medicine costs would displace the equivalent of 1%–10% of discretionary income for most household types. However, low income households would have to forego the equivalent of between 5%–26% of their discretionary income for between 7 and 9 months of the year before receiving additional subsidies. Conclusions: Prescription medicines for chronic conditions pose a substantial financial burden to many households, particularly those with low incomes and general pharmaceutical subsidies. Policies are needed to minimize the cost burden of prescription medicines, particularly for low-income working households. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:18:24Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-30314 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:18:24Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | The Royal Society Medicine Press Ltd |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-303142017-03-08T13:13:31Z Impact of cost of medicines for chronic conditions on low income households in Australia Kemp, A. Preen, D. Glover, J. Semmens, James Roughead, E. cost burden of prescription medicines chronic illnesses annual pharmaceutical cap (safety net) pharmaceutical subsidies diabetes asthma and osteoarthritis discretionary income acute coronary syndrome social security entitlements gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and depression cost of medicines Objectives: To determine the cost of medicines for selected chronic illnesses and the proportion of discretionary income this would potentially displace for households with different pharmaceutical subsidy entitlements and incomes. Methods: We analysed household income and expenditure data for 9,774 households participating in two Australian surveys in 2009–10. The amount of ‘discretionary’ income available to households after basic living and health care expenditure was modelled for households with high pharmaceutical subsidies: pensioner and non-pensioner concessional (social security entitlements); and households with general pharmaceutical subsidies and low, middle or high incomes. We calculated the proportion of discretionary income that would be needed for medicines if one household member had diabetes or acute coronary syndrome, or if one member also had two co-existing illnesses (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and depression, or asthma and osteoarthritis).Results: Pensioner and low income households had little discretionary income after basic living and health care expenditure (AUD$92 and $164/week, respectively). Medicines for the specified illnesses ranged from $11–$42/month for high subsidy households and $34–$186/month for low subsidy households. Costs reduced substantially once patients reached the annual pharmaceutical cap (safety net), prior to which medicine costs would displace the equivalent of 1%–10% of discretionary income for most household types. However, low income households would have to forego the equivalent of between 5%–26% of their discretionary income for between 7 and 9 months of the year before receiving additional subsidies. Conclusions: Prescription medicines for chronic conditions pose a substantial financial burden to many households, particularly those with low incomes and general pharmaceutical subsidies. Policies are needed to minimize the cost burden of prescription medicines, particularly for low-income working households. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30314 http://jhsrp.rsmjournals.com/content/18/1/21.full.pdf The Royal Society Medicine Press Ltd restricted |
| spellingShingle | cost burden of prescription medicines chronic illnesses annual pharmaceutical cap (safety net) pharmaceutical subsidies diabetes asthma and osteoarthritis discretionary income acute coronary syndrome social security entitlements gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and depression cost of medicines Kemp, A. Preen, D. Glover, J. Semmens, James Roughead, E. Impact of cost of medicines for chronic conditions on low income households in Australia |
| title | Impact of cost of medicines for chronic conditions on low income households in Australia |
| title_full | Impact of cost of medicines for chronic conditions on low income households in Australia |
| title_fullStr | Impact of cost of medicines for chronic conditions on low income households in Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of cost of medicines for chronic conditions on low income households in Australia |
| title_short | Impact of cost of medicines for chronic conditions on low income households in Australia |
| title_sort | impact of cost of medicines for chronic conditions on low income households in australia |
| topic | cost burden of prescription medicines chronic illnesses annual pharmaceutical cap (safety net) pharmaceutical subsidies diabetes asthma and osteoarthritis discretionary income acute coronary syndrome social security entitlements gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and depression cost of medicines |
| url | http://jhsrp.rsmjournals.com/content/18/1/21.full.pdf http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30314 |