Posted by Michael Wonder on 23 Oct 2018
$80 million investment in eye medication
24 October 2018 - The Australian Government will invest $80 million in eye medications through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, helping improve and preserve the vision of thousands of Australians and saving them up to $7,000 a year.
The Morrison Government will invest $80 million in eye medications through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), helping improve and preserve the vision of thousands of Australians and saving them up to $7,000 a year.
From 1 November 2018, patients will get new subsidised treatment options for a range of eye conditions including Ozurdex (dexamethasone) for the treatment of blocked veins in the retina due to a condition known as retinal vein occlusion, which leads to varying degrees of vision loss.
The current PBS listing for the medication Lucentis will be expanded for patients suffering from types of choroidal neovascularization not currently covered on the PBS, a condition that is associated with unwanted growth of new blood vessels in the eye that impact vision, including due to pathological myopia (a type of extremely acute near-sightedness).
