19 October 2019 - News Corporation's national health reported claims that cancer, mental health and arthritis drugs approved for the PBS will never be listed despite a government promise to add every medicine that has been endorsed to the nation’s subsidy scheme

Is this true/correct? Alas no. Every Health Minister, Labor and Liberal, knows full well that it is nigh on impossible to list every medicine/vaccine recommended by the PBAC on the PBS or NIP. No Health Minister worth his/her salt would promise that.

In his 2019 Budget reply speech, it was Bill Shorten who promised, if elected, to list every medicine recommended by the PBAC on the PBS.

This article is poorly researched, written and edited.

• While the list is not easy to compile, it is not secret. The list has been compiled from information in the public domain. I have also compiled a list of medicines (and vaccines) that have been recommended by the PBAC that have not been listed on the PBS or NIP. While my list is proprietary, it is not a secret. I suspect others may have also compiled such as list.
• The News Corp's list is not complete given it only makes reference to medicines recommended by the PBAC in 2017 and 2018. There are outstanding PBAC recommendations from before 2017.
• As we all know, it is the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) NOT the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Council or the PABC
• Kevzara has not been withdrawn from the market
• AdrenaJect was deferred by the PBAC in March 2018; there is no other PBAC outcome for this medicine in the public domain
• This is just the start

Press on if you want to continue reading the results of News Corporation's misleading and flawed investigation.

Read Daily Telegraph article