Women are set to save hundreds of dollars a year on oral contraceptives and hormone therapies. Under a half a billion-dollar package announced by the Albanese government. The coalition was quick to match the women's health commitment -- which includes a big boost to rebates for IUDs and a new rebate for women seeking menopause assessment.
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00:00The government is calling this announcement today a game changer.
00:06From March, the oral contraceptive pill Yaz and Yasmin will both be added to the pharmaceutical
00:10benefits scheme, meaning that women will only have to pay about $32 per prescription.
00:16The same goes for three new hormone replacement therapies, Prometrium, Estrogel and Estrogel
00:21Pro.
00:22It's actually the first time a new pill and a new HRT have been added to the PBS in decades.
00:27If Labor wins the next election, it's promising to go even further when it comes to women's
00:31health.
00:32Firstly, by massively increasing the rebate that's currently on offer for both the insertion
00:37and removal of IUDs and hormone implants.
00:42Cost is seen as a pretty big barrier to the uptake of what is an effective long-term contraceptive
00:47and it's hoped that this move to reduce the cost will see more women taking up this contraceptive.
00:52As well as that, there will be a new rebate specifically for GPs to provide menopause
00:56assessments and the number of endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics will not only be increased
01:02but their remit expanded to support basically menopause and perimenopause issues.
01:10The Assistant Health Minister Jed Carney says these changes have been made after a series
01:15of Senate reports that have dug into issues to do with women's health and reproductive
01:20health.
01:21Today we have a package that will transform menopause care.
01:25It will mean fewer unplanned pregnancies.
01:28It will mean women with pelvic pain and endometriosis will be heard and believed and get earlier
01:33diagnosis and treatment.
01:35And it means some women who suffered the agonising pain of UTIs will get treatment more quickly.
01:41This is life changing.
01:43So Jane, what's the reaction been to all this?
01:46Well the Coalition almost immediately sought to match this whole commitment if elected
01:52It's also received widespread support from doctors, groups, family planning and women's
01:57health groups.
01:58One of the women at today's press conference with Jed Carney and the Health Minister Mark
02:03Butler was a woman called Ali Pepper who is Australia's most accomplished female summiteer.
02:10When she went through menopause, she told us her symptoms were so debilitating that
02:14she thought it would basically put an end to her career as a mountain climber, a summiter.
02:19But it was only after she found a GP who could appropriately diagnose her, assess her and
02:24treat her and only after she got Estrogel Plus, one of the drugs pro-rather, one of
02:29the drugs being added to the PBS, that she says her life started to go back to normal.
02:34Here's what she told us.
02:36Within a month, my severe symptoms disappeared.
02:40Within a year, my body felt better than it had in years.
02:45I was able to take on my biggest challenge yet, climbing all 14 of the world's 8,000
02:52metre peaks without oxygen.
02:55And of course, we're firmly in election territory now.
02:58So what are the politics behind this announcement?
03:01Yeah, well, health has always been considered a strong, a Labor strong suit.
03:05You know, it's the party that created Medicare and Labor says it's the only party that will
03:09be going to protect it into the future.
03:11So health will be firmly at the centre of Labor's re-election pitch.
03:16Now, for the Coalition, they are highly sensitive to another potential Medicare campaign, which,
03:22you know, sort of took off really in previous elections.
03:26And also, the Coalition is sort of having to address concerns about Peter Dutton's own
03:34history as a health minister when he tried to bring in what was a failed co-payment for
03:39GP services.
03:40So really, that's why we saw the Coalition today immediately match the Labor Party's
03:44commitment.
03:45It doesn't want there to be any great differences in the two parties' policies when it comes
03:48to health.
03:49But the Coalition too was sort of on the attack here because it's pointing out, in this cost
03:53of living crisis, how hard it is for Australians, how increasingly difficult it is for Australians
03:58to find a bulk billing GP, and also pointing out the number of Australians going without
04:04a doctor's visit because they simply can't afford it.
04:07So that's sort of their line of attack when it comes to the health policy area.