The Abbott Government will invest a record $372 million to ensure Australians continue to have timely access to life-saving chemotherapy drugs, no matter where they live in Australia.

Minister for Health Sussan Ley today announced the details of a new $372 million, five-year payment package that will provide medicine compounders with the certainty needed to viably continue to deliver chemotherapy drugs on demand to patients and doctors nation-wide.

Ms Ley said this was the equivalent of a 30 per cent increase in overall annual investment by the Government when compared to current funding arrangements.

Ms Ley said the package included a new tiered payment system focused around the unique costs of compounding chemotherapy drugs on demand and meeting the expensive safety standards applied to it, as well as a faster direct payment system that will cut down on wait times for reimbursement.

“This Government recognises there were problems with the way chemotherapy drugs were funded in Australia and the risks this posed for patient access if not addressed,” Ms Ley said. 

“These incentives provide certainty over the next five years that lifesaving chemotherapy drugs can continue to compounded on demand and delivered to the 150,000 patients undergoing treatment in Australia in a timely manner, no matter where they live.

For more details, go to: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2015-ley071.htm