Minister for Health & Aged Care and Member for Boothby - Press Conference - 22 September 2024

Read the transcript from Minister Butler's joint press conference with Member for Boothby Louise Miller-Frost on increased free access to shingles vaccine, beer excise, in game gambling ads and preventive health funding.

The Hon Mark Butler MP
Minister for Health and Aged Care

Media event date:
Date published:
Media type:
Transcript
Audience:
General public

MEMBER FOR BOOTHYBY, LOUISE MILLER-FROST MP: Hi, I'm Louise Miller-Frost. I'm the Federal Member for Boothby, and I'm really pleased to be here today with my friends, the Minister for Health, Mark Butler, Dr Johanna Kilmartin, who is a Practice Principal here at Crafter Medical Centre in Hawthorn, and Sharyce, who's a consumer. This is a really important announcement today. I've spoken to people who've had shingles. I spoke to a man who had the post shingles neuropathy. He couldn't bear the feeling of clothing on his skin for six to eight months. Now, that's a real impact on your life. Shingles is a nasty disease, and I'm really pleased to be able to hand over to my friend for this announcement.
 
MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE, MARK BUTLER: Thank you, Louise, such a wonderful addition to our caucus, with a really terrific background in health. It's really terrific to be with you today and to Dr Kilmartin hosting us today in one of Adelaide's oldest general practices. It's great to hear the history of this extraordinary institution in South Australia's healthcare system. And to Sharyce again, great to see you.
 
We were elected on a promise to make medicines cheaper, and we've been delivering on that promise, saving Australian patients hundreds of millions of dollars, with first of all the biggest cut to the price of medicines in the 75 year history of the PBS, last year. Then over the course of the last 12 months, adding hundreds of medicines to the 60 days script list so that GPs can exercise their clinical judgment with their patients to give them a script for common medicines for ongoing chronic conditions, for 60 days supply, rather than 30. Saving patients time and money, but also freeing up GP visits that don't have to be used just to get a repeat script.
 
At the same time, though, we've been really conscious to make sure that the PBS remains dynamic and cutting edge, and in just two years, we've added more than 200 new and expanded listings to the PBS, the pharmaceutical benefits scheme, that gives Australian patients access to the world's best treatments at affordable PBS prices. And some of those treatments, for example, for cancer, might run literally to hundreds of thousands of dollars were they not listed on the PBS.. Again, saving patients extraordinary amounts of money.
 
We've also added vaccines to the National Immunisation Program, which provides Australian patients who are covered by the NIP free vaccines as well. Louise has mentioned the new, very effective, long acting shingles vaccine, Shingrix, which the government added to the National Immunisation Program last November. Since we did that, delivering the most comprehensive shingles vaccine program in the world, perhaps alongside Germany, one and a half million Australian patients have already accessed a free Shingrix vaccine. Without the listing, that would have cost them $560 million and just that alone already has saved Australian patients maybe $800 - $900 million in out-of-pocket costs for that highly effective, important vaccine.
 
I'm delighted today to announce that this month, we've added an additional entitlement to a free Shingrix vaccine to Australians who are living with a moderate compromise to their immunity. That will be a range of different conditions, it might be that they have HIV, it might be that they have advanced kidney disease and are on dialysis, or a range of other conditions that their GP assesses qualifies them for access to a free Shingrix vaccine. We think that that will add about 215,000 Australians to the program, again expanding the most comprehensive shingles vaccine program in the world and save every single one of those 215,000 Australians around $560 to get this highly effective protection against a really terrible disease. A terrific announcement today, and I want to thank Dr Kilmartin and Sharyce for joining us here and hand over to the doctor.
 
CRAFTER HEALTH GP, DR JOHANNA KILMARTIN: Hi, my name is Dr Johanna Kilmartin. We welcome this new, expanded eligibility criteria for Shingrix. I think it's about time. I think that a lot of our immunocompromised patients have been asking to see whether or not they were eligible to receive this vaccine against a preventable disease, really, as much as we can prevent it. This particular Shingrix vaccine is highly effective two doses, confers over 90 per cent of immunity for 10 to more years I think the data is very clear on that. I encourage patients who think that they might be eligible, who might have immunocompromised, who might have an underlying chronic condition that would make them eligible for it to seek advice from the GP as soon as possible. Thank you.
 
PATIENT, SHARYCE HELYAR: Hello, My name is Sharyce. I am immunocompromised, and I have been for about 15 years. I was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and psoriatic arthritis when I was just four years old. I've been taking immunosuppressant medications almost since I was diagnosed to help manage my symptoms and control my arthritis. I think this is such an amazing thing that I can now get this vaccination, because if I were to develop shingles, it would significantly impact me and my life. I would obviously, my body won't fight it, so I would have severe symptoms, and it would last a long period. It'll take me a very, very long time to recover, and it can significantly impact my life, because it will flare up all of my chronic illness symptoms and it'll significantly impact my life and my quality of life if I did develop shingles. I'm so excited that I can get this vaccination and protect myself. Thank you.
 
JOURNALIST: Is it accessible through just is it the GP or pharmacy as well? And how do patients go about it, like setting up a meeting with the GP first?
 
BUTLER: The Shingrix vaccine can be administered in a pharmacy, but given this expanded criteria, as Dr Kilmartin said, it will really require a discussion between a patient and their GP as to whether or not they qualify and would benefit from this. I make the point that the cohort that's now captured in these new criteria with moderate immunocompromise are about twice as likely as the general population to contract shingles, as well as all of the consequences Sharyce talked about. I encourage people to have a discussion with their GP, and they'll be able to determine whether or not they’re covered within the new criteria. And obviously the GP is able to administer the vaccine as well.
 
JOURNALIST: I believe there were already some groups that were immunocompromised that could be eligible. Can you just give us an idea of a couple of cohorts that are now and is it on the GP to assess whether they're eligible?
 
BUTLER: It will largely be a GP assessment, but it is people who have a compromise to their immunity that might be as a result of their condition, or it might be a result of medications that they are taking to manage a condition. I talked about a couple of examples, in addition to Sharyce’s example. People with HIV will be captured, people on dialysis, with advanced stage kidney disease and many others besides. The existing arrangements before September, before this month, covered only about four conditions that would confer more severe, immunocompromised, like leukemia, for example, or, solid tumours, Dr Kilmartin might be able to explain, and organ transplants. A relatively confined group of Australians with quite severe immunocompromised. As Dr Kilmartin said, this is really quite an expansion that many have been calling for because, as I say, this group is about twice as likely to contract shingles and more likely to experience severe symptoms of it.
 
JOURNALIST: Are considering lowering the age for the general population to be eligible as well, I think it's 65?
 
BUTLER: There's already been a process of lowering that age. The first recommendation was 75 it came down to 65. We take advice under legislation, we're required to from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee on these things. They advise what the clinical and cost-effective criteria are for a medicine or for a vaccine. That committee of medicine and vaccine experts keep very much up to date with emerging evidence about the operation of a medicine or vaccine. There will, I presume, be updates to the advice around Shingrix, as there are too many other vaccines and medicines, and when we receive that advice, we've been very quick to make sure that advice translates into a new listing that will benefit Australian patients.
 
JOURNALIST: What's next? I mean, would you like to see this vaccine become eligible for I mean, the free vaccine become eligible for everyone?
 
BUTLER: That's ultimately a matter for the medicine experts to determine the clinical and cost effectiveness of that. Many, many vaccines are restricted only to particular cohorts of the population, at least for free access on the National Immunisation Program. The flu vaccine is an example of that to over 65’s, to under-fives, to people with immunocompromised. That doesn't mean the vaccine's not useful for other members of the community, but the medicine experts have determined that the clinical and cost effectiveness of making it free, funded by taxpayers, should really be targeted at cohorts that will get the best effect.
 
JOURNALIST: How's the supply and demand as we open it up for more Australians? Is there enough of the vaccine? And is there a wait list?
 
BUTLER: I have to say, when we when we opened up this program last November, we were pretty overwhelmed by the response. There was a huge response by patients, particularly older Australians, into general practices, into pharmacies. Although we had modelled the demand in the usual way and ordered vaccine supply according to that model, we were a bit overwhelmed, and I had to go and ensure that we sourced another 750,000 doses of the vaccine in very quick time to deal with what had become a shortage. I've looked only at the current data over the last couple of weeks, we have about 500,000 doses right now in Australia, either in warehouses or in vaccine fridges, in general practices like this one, or in pharmacies. I'm very confident that we're covered right now but given the popularity of this program, we've been watching very closely to make sure that we don't get caught again with a shortage.
 
JOURNALIST: The Nationals are pushing to reform beer excise to make it cheaper. Do you think that will likely lead to more domestic violence?
 
BUTLER: We're focused on cheaper medicines, not cheaper beer. But why the National Party would choose this as a policy priority for them is utterly beyond me. There are some very important issues around the access to alcohol, particularly new delivery models that have been the focus of national cabinet consideration in the context of their very serious discussions around domestic violence. But I think that the National Party call for cheaper beer comes really in the wake of very standard excise increases that have operated under governments of all political persuasions for many years, every six months. But I have to say, this is not a focus of our government. As I said, cheaper medicines, not cheaper beer, is the focus of this government.
 
JOURNALIST: The second part of that question, do you think it will lead to increasing domestic violence if beer is cheaper?
 
BUTLER: I've responded to your question by saying what the national cabinet focus on. What their discussion of the interaction between alcohol and domestic violence was, and that was very much a concern about new delivery models for alcohol that circumvent a whole lot of restrictions that, for good reason, have been being put in place around the trading hours that would govern access to alcohol, around the responsible service of alcohol regulations that ensure that people providing alcohol don't do it to people who are intoxicated. We're very concerned about these new models and what that does to allow access to alcohol, which causes a range of harms, but one of them is we know a harm of more family and domestic violence.
 
JOURNALIST: Still on the topic of health, do you think there will be more positive health benefits for the government's reforms to in game gambling ads for kids?
 
BUTLER: This is obviously a matter under deep consideration by the government, being led by the Communications Minister, but all members of government are involved in these discussions. We are very focused on problem gambling as a government, we have put in place a range of initiatives to reduce the incidence of problem gambling in our community, but we're working through the question of gambling advertising carefully. There'll be announcements in due course.
 
JOURNALIST: There are reports today, Australia spends just $140 per person on preventative health, three times less than comparable countries. Why is that?
 
BUTLER: Most people in the health sector, and I know Dr Kilmartin would say, because you said it to me only a minute ago, but that we could do better on prevention in Australia. It's been a long standing feature of our health system that we spend probably a bit less than 2 per cent of our entire health spend on stopping people getting sick in the first place, and about two thirds of that spend is on the vaccine program. And expanding the vaccine program like we're doing here today with Shingrix, is important. A very significant additional component of our preventative health spend has been on the largest cause of preventable disability and death, and that is smoking and, more recently, vaping. We've substantially increased our spend on that in the last 12 to 18 months as a government. But there is more that we should be doing in the area of prevention, particularly with the most significant, or at least the fastest growing cause of preventable illness, and that is around diet and activity and the flow on into diabetes, particularly type two diabetes. We've received a terrific report from the Health Committee of the Parliament on that which we're working through.
 
JOURNALIST: Look, I guess, from your perspective, having an underlying health condition was the Shingrix vaccine just the cost of it before now, just too astronomical for you to consider taking it?
 
HELYAR: Yeah. So when I was first put on bottom line immunosuppressants, I'm on to immunosuppressant medications now, so when I was put on the second one, my specialist did recommend that I got the vaccination, but she did say I would have to pay for it because I'm not part of that small group I'm immunocompromised. The reason I hadn't got it before now is because of the cost of it. I have so many other appointments and my medications and all these other things that I need to pay for, so spending $250 on a vaccination just wasn't feasible for me, but now I can get it without having to pay that. It's actually amazing for me.
 
JOURNALIST: Having a chronic condition doesn't come cheap to you, does it?
 
HELYAR: No, there are so many things that I need to pay for, and it is hard to pay for, especially like this cost-of-living crisis as well. There are so many things to pay for, like appointments, medications, therapies, there's just so much.
 
JOURNALIST: Did that baffle you that you weren't able to access the vaccine for free until now?
 
HELYAR: Yeah, it was. When I did the research on it, because my specialist told me about it, I did the research myself to work out whether or not I could, and I looked into it, and I was a bit confused by it, because, yes, I'm immunocompromised I have been for 15 years, and I can't access things that will benefit my health in the long term. It was hard thing to kind of get my head around. But then I knew it was like that for a reason, so I didn't, I guess, fight it.
 
JOURNALIST: Can we ask whereabouts you live in the region and how old you are, just to introduce you?
 
HELYAR: I'm 26 years old. I grew up in Murray Bridge, I live about an hour from here. I did live in Adelaide, but my health got a bit much, so I did have to move back with my family. That’s where I'm at the moment.
 
JOURNALIST: Thanks so much.
 
BUTLER: Thanks everyone.


ENDS

Help us improve health.gov.au

If you would like a response please use the enquiries form instead.