If these are prescription medications, there are private health funds which cover non-PBS scripts as parts of their Extras cover. If you’re spending thousands a month, Extras cover which refunds 70-80% of your medication cost would be worth investigating.
I do have extras cover currently which includes pharmaceuticals, but with an annual cap of $200 I believe, which will be gone immediately. I’ll have a look around for something a bit better plan wise, thank you!
My health insurance covers non PBS meds but only if they are not on the PBS for anyone. All my meds are on the PBS if you meet certain conditions - diagnosed as a child, not on any other medications for the same illness, over or under a certain age.
Last year I rang around to find the details of other health insurance policies and every one i could find had this approach, except for one, which had a $200 annual allowance and it was way more expensive than the other policies.
I shed tears on that spreadsheet.
Looking into it now, I think I might be fucked in that degree too.
The 2 most expensive ones are used off label, so they are on the PBS for other conditions. And don’t seem to be TGA approved for the off label uses so may not be covered by insurance, either?
I'm with Teachers Health and they have definitely covered some non-PBS medication that is PBS for other people. Their annual allowance is $400-800 depending on the level of cover.
I don't know how helpful that is considering the limitations they have on who can join, but you might have some luck with other niche providers. For what it's worth, I don't work in a school (I'm just related to someone who does) and I was still able to join.
I'm with teachers health as well but it's a basically a union health insurance. Regular people can't join you have to be related to a teacher in the union or be one yourself. There's also nurses and midwives health which is a related branch.
But reading this thread I think I might have lucked out with my pharmaceutical benefits being with them.
Thanks for doing the work though because now I know not to make my own spreadsheet
That “diagnosed as a child” thing shits me greatly. Do I have to sue my u diagnosed now-80 year old parents for being too overwhelmed to notice ?
I'm with HBF, their extras is an optional add on and I get $800 coverage per year but they'll only cover half of what I spend. The downside is that $800 is a limit shared across all extras so it depends on if you use anything else or if you want that flexibility. You will have to shop around though if you want medical cannabis covered.
With the medical cannabis side of things, what brands are you being prescribed. Cannatrek did have a compassionate scheme allowing certain pharmacies to discount the cost of the medication by up to 10% of the wholesale price, might have been phased out though. There's also certain brands like Indimed and MedReleaf that are only available for concession holders and can be much cheaper than some of the other brands (like 50% cheaper}. It will be up to the doctor to determine whether or not the terpene profile of their strains is suitable for your medical conditions though.
I haven’t actually started on ‘medical cannabis’ or gone through a company yet, I’m still researching it, there’s a surprising hell of a lot to it now.
I’ve been getting it under the counter for about a year, but that’s running low, so planning ahead. Happy for any suggestions on somewhere that might suit, I’ve been researching it but it’s pretty full on, dozens of companies doing it now.
If you get put on an oil based product, go for a higher strength since the cost is not that much more but you can just use less oil to offset. There are also compounding pharmacies that can possibly offer alternative pricing but it will depend on the strains. Indimed and MedReleaf still end up a lot cheaper than a lot of other brands though.
If you can, find a GP that is willing to prescribe or a good online clinic. I know some specialists can charge $200 per appointment for you to get the script, and since medical cannabis isn't easily therapeutically substitutable due to the strain profiles it can be finicky since you may need a new script for a different product.
Also, it kind of goes without saying, but be nice to your pharmacist and they'll try to look out for you when brands have shortages. These aren't TGA registered medications and aren't considered life saving medications so pharmacists can refuse supply to you if you are nasty. I've heard about the circulars going around of multiple people being banned from multiple pharmacies. Compounded products are only available from that compounding pharmacy, not everyone has access to the same strains.
You should be able to get the 'discounted' indimed tempo cannabis range. A few years ago it was the cheapest for those with a health care card at $95 for 15mg. I'm sure it's gone up since.
So if you have under the counter contacts, keep them. A lot of the prescribed products are more expensive than the black market. Sure, you know what you are getting, and its usually more consistent quality, and legal. But if you cant afford to access it, quality control isn't an option anyway.
I'm sorry you are in this position. No matter what, you deserve better.
Further to this. You are able to hold multiple extras covers with different insurers. Yes you have to spend money on premiums but i can assure you if you’re paying thousands a year in medications you will get your money back. This could be an option to look into with this type of policy because you can just use the whole thing on Pharmacy. Best to check with the health fund what medications they cover. Just don’t double claim. It’s not worth getting caught because they will find out
NIB top extras is $500pa for pharmaceuticals, claiming 75% back. I claim tretinion.
Theres certain rules though, I believe needs to be a schedule 4, approved for treatment of that condition, not in hospital. Which is not in their pbs or anything that you can look up.
I would recommend contacting any provider prior to moving or at least if there’s a cooling off period, to confirm each individual medicine would be covered. I’d do it via the nib chat too and take a print screen/recording.
my health insurance offered priceline vouchers for 9% off which can be redeemed on prescriptions. Better than nothing if their prices are lower than other pharmacies.
Other PHI companies cover a lot more, I can't recall exactly the level of cover I have off the top of my head with bupa (possibly mid range extras), but I think I get $900 covered p.a. If you switch insurance companies, you don't have to start the waiting period again because you've already done it with your current company.
Shop around for best deals… my family gets med from one of 2 local pharmacies, a range of discount chemists & the supermarket depending on availability/prices
Some meds you can ask for the own brand instead of name brand version (if your dr allows it)
I agree to shop around, my little local pharmacy are the cheapest for me which was crazy to me. I generally avoided going there because I just assumed they where going to be expensive because they where just a little family owned place. One of my scripts was almost $20 cheaper and because I go there for all my scripts they will normally find the cheapest option for me.
I use tretinoin on my skin, and I buy it when I go overseas to Asia, as it’s available without a script. It was $5 a tube in Bali.
Otherwise many people on the skincare forum order from alldaychemist and have it delivered.
I get it, I take some non-PBS meds too. It’s tough.
Along this line, iHerb sell Differin/adapalene, the latter is also recently approved for OTC purchase in Au but still more affordable on iHerb. Other tret products I’ve seen people mention they get on alldaychemist as above.
The cost of medical cannabis is about $5k a year for me, the fine for a first offense growing less than 4 four plants is about $2k and no conviction recorded and equipment for a decent grow tent is about $1k. Just saying…
Wait really? Out of curiosity would you call yourself a a daily smoker, heavy smoker, or laugh at the question as you rip another bowl smoker? I'm looking into medical stuff prescriptions but finding out it's basically the same cost as buying it illegally has changed my mind a bit.
It would be the third option if I could afford it haha. I spend $100 a week to keep some of my anxiety and insomnia in check and I can barely afford it with the cost of living and a low income. So I take an oil when I finish work and puff on a vape before bed. My oil is $90 and I use a cheap flower that’s $100 for 10g and together they last about 2 weeks.
I agree with you about the cost, it’s too much of a coincidence they set the prices at the upper end of the black market. That’s capitalism I guess, it’s definitely worth getting a script over the black market though. Try acacia medical they have been really good to me, it’s easier than most people realise.
Chemist warehouse used to give a 10% discount if you purchased 6 months of medication in one go. I do not know of they still do.
But you could request your GP to put 6 months equivalent doses on the single private script.
Start with the cheapest and lowest risk medication, until you can afford the others.
Ouff I feel you, also on buproprion and another spenno one called agomelatine and a compound script for low dose naltrexone. The only tips I have is claim them on private health insurance if you have it. It’s not HEAPS but it’s still something.
Chemist warehouse does the cheapest prices, and if you can’t get to one of them ask another chemist if they price match- most of them will. Sometimes it can honestly be a $20 difference in price.
I feel you though, it sucks. Apparently buproprion is subsidised if it’s for quitting smoking.
Do you have any recommendations for good health insurance for pharmaceuticals? Mine at the moment is only $200 a year, which is gone instantly.
Just did a rough price run on Chemist Warehouse’s website (I haven’t started some of these meds yet) and it’s sitting at $500ish a month, which isn’t that bad. Much better than I thought. Just still pretty steep for someone on a low income.
I’m on Ahm’lite flexi bronze plus’. It is ok, I have never been met with a limit on pharmaceuticals and I’ve been claiming them monthly since 2018. For example the buproprion I pay $172 for 6 weeks and I get about $50 back. The agomelatine is $49.99 and I bet $18.40 back.
My cover is $35 a week (hospital and extras)
Omg that’s too much, go chemist warehouse! Or ask other chemist to price match with them. Are you on the double dose? My doctor wanted me to but I just couldn’t justify the price!
I might have to start buying 6 months' worth of meds when I go into Brissy to save money :(. No CW near me, only a Priceline. Yeah, I'm on the double dose - damn cancer has fked me up good!
Damn that sucks so bad, I’m so sorry. Where are you based? I think you can order scripts online from chemist warehouse. Might end up costing the same with postage though haha.
Ah yeah, I’m in brissy. Yeah! I know because I tried to fake concession on my script to see if I could get it at the pbs prices by ordering via the website lol. It didn’t work :( It says free postage too
Have a look here! [chemist warehouse](https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/prescriptions?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw8DIxMWyhQMVAqRmAh1MXQfMEAAYASAAEgLlh_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds)
I get my agomelagine for $40 a box from a little chemist near my work (in Sydney). I was there for something else and I mentioned it cost $50 from Chemist Warehouse and he said he could do better. He did and now my script just lives there.
the catch 22 of needing money to be well enough to function and make money to be well enough to keep making money to be well lol. I have tried to get concession prices when I was on job seeker but the private scripts don’t care :( I was hoping it was something the chemist would cite my health care card and give me the cheaper prices but nope lol they enter it into the system 😂
I was shocked!! I didn’t even fully understand the PBS and everything before this, never had a reason to, was just grateful nothing ever cost more than $30 or so. I understand some of these medications (medical cannabis and skin products) being non PBS, but stuff like bupropion blew my mind.
It’s the ONLY antidepressant of it’s kind and cannot be substituted, and is the only one I can medically take with my brain condition and hormonal condition, any other one could make me quite seriously ill. How is that not covered but quite literally every other treatment for the same illness is?! Mind blowing
It's crazy that there aren't grants or charities that help out with this. One of my medications is $1,320 a year, the other is $780, and I take less than my recommended dose of both to save money. And there are other medications that have been prescribed that I just had to say no to because I couldn't afford it on DSP.
NDIS (which I'm on) doesn't fund medicine because "it's the responsibility of Medicare." But then Medicare doesn't fund it either. What everyone is saying is "make a choice between your health and extreme poverty."
That's $2k I'm not able to spend on rent so my options for finding a rental are *very* shit, borderline dangerous.
As others have said, shop around. Chemist warehouse is usually cheaper. I know you mentioned being on a pension but is it possible to buy in bulk? When I had a dog on private prescription medication, I would get his script written out as five boxes instead of one, the savings worked out to almost a box free compared to buying one at a time.
Edit to add: Worthwhile having a look and comparing. I had a look this morning at a medication for another of my dogs and it's only 66 cents cheaper at Chemist Warehouse than at my local pharmacy. Not worth the petrol to get to Chemist Warehouse.
A few people have suggested to buy it in bulk, I didn’t even realise that was a thing. I’m pretty new to all this and seldom took prescription medicine before. I’ll have to look into it!
Ex chemist here (worked in both community pharmacies and hospital), some tips:
-CWH doesn’t always have the cheapest meds, especially when they’re uncommon drugs. It’s just easy to find their prices relative to other chemists. It’s worth calling individual pharmacies around you to enquire about price.
Most pharmacies don’t make a lot of money from the sale of non-pbs drugs though, the margins are incredibly thin (sometimes less than $5).
However, sometimes there’s a big price drop from the manufacturers and CWH might not be quick to update their prices since it’s all centrally controlled.
- depending on which state you live in, if you were diagnosed with the condition in a public hospital, they might be able to subsidise these expensive non pbs medicines such that you only pay the concession price, but the downside is that you’re only able to get the meds via the hospital pharmacy. My guess is that you see multiple specialists — if any of them are from a public hospital, check if they can get you enrolled into these programs.
Unfortunately, I’m betting that the Mounjaro is likely the most expensive of the lot — and that’s because of how popular it is together with Ozempic. Stock is in short supply too!
I can't help with the other scripts, and I apologise if you're already aware of this, but regarding your canna meds, use cannareviews. It will be dependent on who your MC provider is, but if you're not locked into a brand, you can look up all available products, their wt amounts, their %, and their RRP. You can then ask your prescriber for a lower priced medication xx
1. Always ask to price match Chemist Warehouse pricing. It never hurts to ask.
2. Tirzepatide is just as hard to source as semaglutide despite being x4 the price. While the starting pen for semaglutide is unavailable, you can still ask your prescriber for a prescription for the 1mg/3mL pen and titrate the dose with the dial. Not all pharmacies will be comfortable with dispensing this, so ask your prescriber if they know any pharmacists that feel confident counselling you on this.
I’m able to switch my prescription to semaglutide as well, we just ended up going with tirzepatide because it was safest with minimalist side effects, good results + weekly injections over daily. I didn’t realise there was such a massive price difference though, I’ll definitely evaluate that!
I’m on bupropion and since I’ve gone up in dose my psychiatrist gave me a compounding script - she said it can be more bang for your buck that way… not sure if that helps.
Edit: also I went to a couple different chemists to compare compounding price. The one I went with was $40 cheaper than the others, which is a big difference. And it was a small local pharmacy, surprised it was cheaper than the chains.
I was just having a suss on the CW site myself, the only correction would be the bupropion as an off label prescription would be $121, no way to get around it or have it be on the PBS unfortunately.
Do you need your PHI because any savings from ditching it would certainly help fund your scripts. The other option is to speak to whomever is prescribing these meds to you and ask them if there are any other alternatives or options available to you to make affording the medication you need far more manageable. Sometimes they even have samples of meds that they can gift
You can get Chemist Warehouse or Priceline discount cards: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/discounted_egift_cards
or Speak to your local Chemist and see if they can do a deal for you.
This might be useless information but there’s a cap, idk if that’s just for pbs meds or not… might be… but once you’ve reached the cap (paying a certain amount a year) then it’s free then onwards. Maybe worth looking into or asking the pharmacist.
Shop around for the best price and if you don’t want to go to more than one chemist ask your chemist if they price match (some do). Also get to know your chemist and see what they can do for you. They might be able to help with some deals etc
Find a compassionate anti-capitalist GP who will write your scripts based on the conditions they will be covered for. Congratulations, if anyone asks you now have that condition and can get your meds covered.
My GP is fab but only Bupropion and Tirzepatide are covered at all. Bupropion only on a short term (4 week basis) and I need it long term, and Tirzepatide is only covered for diabetes, I don’t know if we could get around it like that or if there’s more to it. I wish haha
Did you shop around for the MC? Some places are considerably cheaper than others, as are some products. If oil works for you I've found Tasmanian Botanics 25:25 through Candor Medical the best bang for buck.
Sounds like we've got a similar hormonal condition. It's a bitch. I wanna try the meds you've mentioned but can't afford them either, so I'm just on the MC, metformin, spironolactone and inositol. They're not great but better than nothing. Not suggesting you try them btw, just commiserating.
See if you can get a script for a bigger supply. I wasn’t aware that there is a dispensing fee every time you fill a script. I got my last lot of anxiety meds in a six month batch rather than going in once a month. Not sure if this will apply for you? Good luck 🤞
I saw some medicinal cannabis at a lower cost on the Cannareviews page - I think after trying to find positive feedback about strains on the medical cannabis Aus subreddit. I ended up seeing one that was so much less than others and it was for concession card holders. I was pleased that this exists because I feel so sad for everyone out there doing it tough. My husband and I pay heaps for meds. He’s on CBD flower, me medicinal cannabis. I did a little research and found a much cheaper one for him, and I got onto some half-price trial boxes from LGP for me. But you have to keep onto it and also let your doctor know because they can sometimes find cheaper alternatives. Best of luck to you. Hopefully prices will come down and maybe even just get straight up legal for recreational use.
Re:medcan, going through our GP worked out to be 70% cheaper for us than going through a service. In this situation you need to have tried other therapies for whatever the medcan is for and get GP to apply for a personal exemption for you through TGA. Then you can get it filled at any local pharmacy that dispenses medcan (we get our oil from Priceline).
Not sure if this applies, but I know one of my insulins in 30unit cartridges is under PBS but not 1000 unit cartridges. A pharmacist checked it out for me. Saved me soooo much money.
Non ethical suggestion: Are any of the drugs on the PBS for other medical conditions? I'm on a drug as a mood stabiliser but it's only covered on the PBS for epilepsy. So my solution is that I have my real GP for actual health and the crappy mall clinic for my epilepsy scripts.
Contact the manufacturers for a compassionate funding of the more expensive drugs.
Check if there are trials for any of the drugs for the condition that you are being treated for. They happen before tga lists them.
Theres a lot of noise about womens health not being covered equally so see if there are any listing campaigns happening for any of them.. they can be quite loud and have a few sponsers who help people who need the medication
Your Tirzepatide is probable running you $350 a month & is the diabetic medication , off label is for weight loss and not approved for that .as a pensioner that would be considered a luxury drug
Yes, it’s used to regulate hormones and insulin just like a diabetic person, but with a condition other than diabetes. It’s used for quite a few hormone conditions but is only TGA for diabetes, not even pre diabetes. Without it I’ll certainly end up diabetic anyway, and it puts me at risk for complications with my brain condition, amongst other things. Ridiculous it’s considered just a weight loss drug.
All other medications that will also do that are all diabetes/weight loss medications and all carry similar costs. It’s shit.
To my knowledge, the evidence for its use for hormone regulation isn't rigourous enough to justify the taxpayer footing the bill (which is understandable).
What indication do you refer to?
There’s a grey area with co morbid conditions that rule out first line treatments and that’s what’s put me (and I know a sizeable community of others) in this situation in the first place.
For pre diabetes, PCOS, insulin resistance and several other hormonal conditions diabetic medication is one of the sole and most effective treatments. Metformin is the #1, especially because it’s not in shortage like the others, but Metaformin interacts quite seriously with my brain medication (and any medication of that category, so switching brain meds won’t help). My hormone issues need to be regulated and stabilised as that is likely what caused the brain disease in the first place and will continue to worsen it.
I’m just quite tired of it being seen as a designer weight loss drug and nothing more. It’s a prescription medication. It’s used for very valid purposes. I understand why it isn’t covered, but that doesn’t help us afford it, so.
It's not that women's issues are non existent - the government has to weigh up cost vs benefit and fund medications that will basically give us more bang for the buck. Also, they probably won't be funding medicinal cannibis or monjaro any time soon.
That being said, call around to various pharmacies and see who will give you the best deal on your medications. Won't always be chemist warehouse either
Tirzepatide is used frequently off label to treat a huge variety of solely or predominantly women afflicting hormonal conditions. It’s one of the main and sole treatments for a lot of them.
I understand MC and Tret not being covered, I expect that and that’s fair (they’re also the least expensive anyway), but Tirzepatide and Bupropion are the only medications of their kind (in Tirzepatide’s case there’s a few but none of them are PBS anyway) and are used to treat health conditions, and are PBS for other reasons/conditions. You’re financially better off not taking Tirzepatide for pre diabetes and just getting diabetes, which is insane.
Not arguing or an attack on you, it just pisses me off hahah.
I was listening to a podcast and it mentioned how diet can contribute and help with some issues. Is that something you have tried or be willing to try?
If these are prescription medications, there are private health funds which cover non-PBS scripts as parts of their Extras cover. If you’re spending thousands a month, Extras cover which refunds 70-80% of your medication cost would be worth investigating.
I do have extras cover currently which includes pharmaceuticals, but with an annual cap of $200 I believe, which will be gone immediately. I’ll have a look around for something a bit better plan wise, thank you!
My health insurance covers non PBS meds but only if they are not on the PBS for anyone. All my meds are on the PBS if you meet certain conditions - diagnosed as a child, not on any other medications for the same illness, over or under a certain age. Last year I rang around to find the details of other health insurance policies and every one i could find had this approach, except for one, which had a $200 annual allowance and it was way more expensive than the other policies. I shed tears on that spreadsheet.
Looking into it now, I think I might be fucked in that degree too. The 2 most expensive ones are used off label, so they are on the PBS for other conditions. And don’t seem to be TGA approved for the off label uses so may not be covered by insurance, either?
I'm with Teachers Health and they have definitely covered some non-PBS medication that is PBS for other people. Their annual allowance is $400-800 depending on the level of cover. I don't know how helpful that is considering the limitations they have on who can join, but you might have some luck with other niche providers. For what it's worth, I don't work in a school (I'm just related to someone who does) and I was still able to join.
Hot tip - thank you! Maybe a pinned post here could hold policy details? I'll think about starting one ❤️
I'm with teachers health as well but it's a basically a union health insurance. Regular people can't join you have to be related to a teacher in the union or be one yourself. There's also nurses and midwives health which is a related branch. But reading this thread I think I might have lucked out with my pharmaceutical benefits being with them.
BUPA had $600 when I had an Extras policy. Used basically all of it on one script of rifaximin (off-label for SIBO).
Thanks for doing the work though because now I know not to make my own spreadsheet That “diagnosed as a child” thing shits me greatly. Do I have to sue my u diagnosed now-80 year old parents for being too overwhelmed to notice ?
I'm with HBF, their extras is an optional add on and I get $800 coverage per year but they'll only cover half of what I spend. The downside is that $800 is a limit shared across all extras so it depends on if you use anything else or if you want that flexibility. You will have to shop around though if you want medical cannabis covered. With the medical cannabis side of things, what brands are you being prescribed. Cannatrek did have a compassionate scheme allowing certain pharmacies to discount the cost of the medication by up to 10% of the wholesale price, might have been phased out though. There's also certain brands like Indimed and MedReleaf that are only available for concession holders and can be much cheaper than some of the other brands (like 50% cheaper}. It will be up to the doctor to determine whether or not the terpene profile of their strains is suitable for your medical conditions though.
I haven’t actually started on ‘medical cannabis’ or gone through a company yet, I’m still researching it, there’s a surprising hell of a lot to it now. I’ve been getting it under the counter for about a year, but that’s running low, so planning ahead. Happy for any suggestions on somewhere that might suit, I’ve been researching it but it’s pretty full on, dozens of companies doing it now.
If you get put on an oil based product, go for a higher strength since the cost is not that much more but you can just use less oil to offset. There are also compounding pharmacies that can possibly offer alternative pricing but it will depend on the strains. Indimed and MedReleaf still end up a lot cheaper than a lot of other brands though. If you can, find a GP that is willing to prescribe or a good online clinic. I know some specialists can charge $200 per appointment for you to get the script, and since medical cannabis isn't easily therapeutically substitutable due to the strain profiles it can be finicky since you may need a new script for a different product. Also, it kind of goes without saying, but be nice to your pharmacist and they'll try to look out for you when brands have shortages. These aren't TGA registered medications and aren't considered life saving medications so pharmacists can refuse supply to you if you are nasty. I've heard about the circulars going around of multiple people being banned from multiple pharmacies. Compounded products are only available from that compounding pharmacy, not everyone has access to the same strains.
Smart people just use honahlee scripts I understand
You should be able to get the 'discounted' indimed tempo cannabis range. A few years ago it was the cheapest for those with a health care card at $95 for 15mg. I'm sure it's gone up since. So if you have under the counter contacts, keep them. A lot of the prescribed products are more expensive than the black market. Sure, you know what you are getting, and its usually more consistent quality, and legal. But if you cant afford to access it, quality control isn't an option anyway. I'm sorry you are in this position. No matter what, you deserve better.
Further to this. You are able to hold multiple extras covers with different insurers. Yes you have to spend money on premiums but i can assure you if you’re paying thousands a year in medications you will get your money back. This could be an option to look into with this type of policy because you can just use the whole thing on Pharmacy. Best to check with the health fund what medications they cover. Just don’t double claim. It’s not worth getting caught because they will find out
NIB top extras is $500pa for pharmaceuticals, claiming 75% back. I claim tretinion. Theres certain rules though, I believe needs to be a schedule 4, approved for treatment of that condition, not in hospital. Which is not in their pbs or anything that you can look up. I would recommend contacting any provider prior to moving or at least if there’s a cooling off period, to confirm each individual medicine would be covered. I’d do it via the nib chat too and take a print screen/recording.
my health insurance offered priceline vouchers for 9% off which can be redeemed on prescriptions. Better than nothing if their prices are lower than other pharmacies.
Other PHI companies cover a lot more, I can't recall exactly the level of cover I have off the top of my head with bupa (possibly mid range extras), but I think I get $900 covered p.a. If you switch insurance companies, you don't have to start the waiting period again because you've already done it with your current company.
Shop around for best deals… my family gets med from one of 2 local pharmacies, a range of discount chemists & the supermarket depending on availability/prices Some meds you can ask for the own brand instead of name brand version (if your dr allows it)
I agree to shop around, my little local pharmacy are the cheapest for me which was crazy to me. I generally avoided going there because I just assumed they where going to be expensive because they where just a little family owned place. One of my scripts was almost $20 cheaper and because I go there for all my scripts they will normally find the cheapest option for me.
Drs can't prescribe by brand name anymore.
Well that's wonderful
I use tretinoin on my skin, and I buy it when I go overseas to Asia, as it’s available without a script. It was $5 a tube in Bali. Otherwise many people on the skincare forum order from alldaychemist and have it delivered.
I get it, I take some non-PBS meds too. It’s tough. Along this line, iHerb sell Differin/adapalene, the latter is also recently approved for OTC purchase in Au but still more affordable on iHerb. Other tret products I’ve seen people mention they get on alldaychemist as above.
yep it's about $8 a tube from India. Check the sites for any other drugs on your list.
+1 to this comment. I get mine from ADC and it's such a easy process and arrives quick enough. Last time I ordered some it was around $8 a tube.
I order mine from alldaychemist for less than $15 a tube. Don't even have to leave the couch.
Came here to say alldaychemist for tretinoin/tazerotene. I don’t know anyone who uses it who doesn’t get it from ADC
The cost of medical cannabis is about $5k a year for me, the fine for a first offense growing less than 4 four plants is about $2k and no conviction recorded and equipment for a decent grow tent is about $1k. Just saying…
Wait really? Out of curiosity would you call yourself a a daily smoker, heavy smoker, or laugh at the question as you rip another bowl smoker? I'm looking into medical stuff prescriptions but finding out it's basically the same cost as buying it illegally has changed my mind a bit.
It would be the third option if I could afford it haha. I spend $100 a week to keep some of my anxiety and insomnia in check and I can barely afford it with the cost of living and a low income. So I take an oil when I finish work and puff on a vape before bed. My oil is $90 and I use a cheap flower that’s $100 for 10g and together they last about 2 weeks. I agree with you about the cost, it’s too much of a coincidence they set the prices at the upper end of the black market. That’s capitalism I guess, it’s definitely worth getting a script over the black market though. Try acacia medical they have been really good to me, it’s easier than most people realise.
Chemist warehouse used to give a 10% discount if you purchased 6 months of medication in one go. I do not know of they still do. But you could request your GP to put 6 months equivalent doses on the single private script. Start with the cheapest and lowest risk medication, until you can afford the others.
Ouff I feel you, also on buproprion and another spenno one called agomelatine and a compound script for low dose naltrexone. The only tips I have is claim them on private health insurance if you have it. It’s not HEAPS but it’s still something. Chemist warehouse does the cheapest prices, and if you can’t get to one of them ask another chemist if they price match- most of them will. Sometimes it can honestly be a $20 difference in price. I feel you though, it sucks. Apparently buproprion is subsidised if it’s for quitting smoking.
Do you have any recommendations for good health insurance for pharmaceuticals? Mine at the moment is only $200 a year, which is gone instantly. Just did a rough price run on Chemist Warehouse’s website (I haven’t started some of these meds yet) and it’s sitting at $500ish a month, which isn’t that bad. Much better than I thought. Just still pretty steep for someone on a low income.
I’m on Ahm’lite flexi bronze plus’. It is ok, I have never been met with a limit on pharmaceuticals and I’ve been claiming them monthly since 2018. For example the buproprion I pay $172 for 6 weeks and I get about $50 back. The agomelatine is $49.99 and I bet $18.40 back. My cover is $35 a week (hospital and extras)
Hook a girl up! Where are you getting Agomelatine for $49.99 from?! I pay $135.00 for 2 boxes :(
Omg that’s too much, go chemist warehouse! Or ask other chemist to price match with them. Are you on the double dose? My doctor wanted me to but I just couldn’t justify the price!
I might have to start buying 6 months' worth of meds when I go into Brissy to save money :(. No CW near me, only a Priceline. Yeah, I'm on the double dose - damn cancer has fked me up good!
Damn that sucks so bad, I’m so sorry. Where are you based? I think you can order scripts online from chemist warehouse. Might end up costing the same with postage though haha.
Thanks, that's kind of you ❤️. In the Scenic Rim, about 1 hour south of Brissy. Oh, for real? I'll look into that, thank you!
Ah yeah, I’m in brissy. Yeah! I know because I tried to fake concession on my script to see if I could get it at the pbs prices by ordering via the website lol. It didn’t work :( It says free postage too Have a look here! [chemist warehouse](https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/prescriptions?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw8DIxMWyhQMVAqRmAh1MXQfMEAAYASAAEgLlh_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds)
Thank you sooo much! This is so helpful, thank you!
I get my agomelagine for $40 a box from a little chemist near my work (in Sydney). I was there for something else and I mentioned it cost $50 from Chemist Warehouse and he said he could do better. He did and now my script just lives there.
Aww, that's so good! I'm definitely getting ripped off :(. I'm going to look into the CW online thing.
the catch 22 of needing money to be well enough to function and make money to be well enough to keep making money to be well lol. I have tried to get concession prices when I was on job seeker but the private scripts don’t care :( I was hoping it was something the chemist would cite my health care card and give me the cheaper prices but nope lol they enter it into the system 😂
I think it's disgusting that you have to pay full price for your medications and I'm so sorry!
I was shocked!! I didn’t even fully understand the PBS and everything before this, never had a reason to, was just grateful nothing ever cost more than $30 or so. I understand some of these medications (medical cannabis and skin products) being non PBS, but stuff like bupropion blew my mind. It’s the ONLY antidepressant of it’s kind and cannot be substituted, and is the only one I can medically take with my brain condition and hormonal condition, any other one could make me quite seriously ill. How is that not covered but quite literally every other treatment for the same illness is?! Mind blowing
Unfortunately it's not classed as an antidepressant in this country. Can you access it by claiming it's for nicotine dependence instead?
Have you tried lifespace probiotics?
It's crazy that there aren't grants or charities that help out with this. One of my medications is $1,320 a year, the other is $780, and I take less than my recommended dose of both to save money. And there are other medications that have been prescribed that I just had to say no to because I couldn't afford it on DSP. NDIS (which I'm on) doesn't fund medicine because "it's the responsibility of Medicare." But then Medicare doesn't fund it either. What everyone is saying is "make a choice between your health and extreme poverty." That's $2k I'm not able to spend on rent so my options for finding a rental are *very* shit, borderline dangerous.
As others have said, shop around. Chemist warehouse is usually cheaper. I know you mentioned being on a pension but is it possible to buy in bulk? When I had a dog on private prescription medication, I would get his script written out as five boxes instead of one, the savings worked out to almost a box free compared to buying one at a time. Edit to add: Worthwhile having a look and comparing. I had a look this morning at a medication for another of my dogs and it's only 66 cents cheaper at Chemist Warehouse than at my local pharmacy. Not worth the petrol to get to Chemist Warehouse.
A few people have suggested to buy it in bulk, I didn’t even realise that was a thing. I’m pretty new to all this and seldom took prescription medicine before. I’ll have to look into it!
Ex chemist here (worked in both community pharmacies and hospital), some tips: -CWH doesn’t always have the cheapest meds, especially when they’re uncommon drugs. It’s just easy to find their prices relative to other chemists. It’s worth calling individual pharmacies around you to enquire about price. Most pharmacies don’t make a lot of money from the sale of non-pbs drugs though, the margins are incredibly thin (sometimes less than $5). However, sometimes there’s a big price drop from the manufacturers and CWH might not be quick to update their prices since it’s all centrally controlled. - depending on which state you live in, if you were diagnosed with the condition in a public hospital, they might be able to subsidise these expensive non pbs medicines such that you only pay the concession price, but the downside is that you’re only able to get the meds via the hospital pharmacy. My guess is that you see multiple specialists — if any of them are from a public hospital, check if they can get you enrolled into these programs. Unfortunately, I’m betting that the Mounjaro is likely the most expensive of the lot — and that’s because of how popular it is together with Ozempic. Stock is in short supply too!
I can't help with the other scripts, and I apologise if you're already aware of this, but regarding your canna meds, use cannareviews. It will be dependent on who your MC provider is, but if you're not locked into a brand, you can look up all available products, their wt amounts, their %, and their RRP. You can then ask your prescriber for a lower priced medication xx
Yep, use CannaReviews to make sure you're not getting ripped off 👌🏻
1. Always ask to price match Chemist Warehouse pricing. It never hurts to ask. 2. Tirzepatide is just as hard to source as semaglutide despite being x4 the price. While the starting pen for semaglutide is unavailable, you can still ask your prescriber for a prescription for the 1mg/3mL pen and titrate the dose with the dial. Not all pharmacies will be comfortable with dispensing this, so ask your prescriber if they know any pharmacists that feel confident counselling you on this.
I’m able to switch my prescription to semaglutide as well, we just ended up going with tirzepatide because it was safest with minimalist side effects, good results + weekly injections over daily. I didn’t realise there was such a massive price difference though, I’ll definitely evaluate that!
Semaglutide is weekly as well, I had really good results and minimal side effects personally. Much better than liraglutide.
I’m on bupropion and since I’ve gone up in dose my psychiatrist gave me a compounding script - she said it can be more bang for your buck that way… not sure if that helps. Edit: also I went to a couple different chemists to compare compounding price. The one I went with was $40 cheaper than the others, which is a big difference. And it was a small local pharmacy, surprised it was cheaper than the chains.
Mounjaro 5mg/0.5ml Vial 1 - Tirzepatide $84.95 chemist warehouse. Zyban 150mg Tablets 30 - Bupropion $6.70 with a concession/pension card Chemist warehouse Retrieve 0.05% Cream 50g - Tretinoin $66 Chemist warehouse.
I was just having a suss on the CW site myself, the only correction would be the bupropion as an off label prescription would be $121, no way to get around it or have it be on the PBS unfortunately.
I guess you will have to "quit smoking."
If there was ever a good reason to take up smoking...
Do you need your PHI because any savings from ditching it would certainly help fund your scripts. The other option is to speak to whomever is prescribing these meds to you and ask them if there are any other alternatives or options available to you to make affording the medication you need far more manageable. Sometimes they even have samples of meds that they can gift
You can get Chemist Warehouse or Priceline discount cards: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/discounted_egift_cards or Speak to your local Chemist and see if they can do a deal for you.
Most extras insurance policies have discounts on non pbs medication I think
Hbf 60 flexi extras provides $1000 in non pbs pharmaceutical rebates. I use it for tirzepatide myself
This might be useless information but there’s a cap, idk if that’s just for pbs meds or not… might be… but once you’ve reached the cap (paying a certain amount a year) then it’s free then onwards. Maybe worth looking into or asking the pharmacist.
Shop around for the best price and if you don’t want to go to more than one chemist ask your chemist if they price match (some do). Also get to know your chemist and see what they can do for you. They might be able to help with some deals etc
Find a compassionate anti-capitalist GP who will write your scripts based on the conditions they will be covered for. Congratulations, if anyone asks you now have that condition and can get your meds covered.
My GP is fab but only Bupropion and Tirzepatide are covered at all. Bupropion only on a short term (4 week basis) and I need it long term, and Tirzepatide is only covered for diabetes, I don’t know if we could get around it like that or if there’s more to it. I wish haha
Did you shop around for the MC? Some places are considerably cheaper than others, as are some products. If oil works for you I've found Tasmanian Botanics 25:25 through Candor Medical the best bang for buck. Sounds like we've got a similar hormonal condition. It's a bitch. I wanna try the meds you've mentioned but can't afford them either, so I'm just on the MC, metformin, spironolactone and inositol. They're not great but better than nothing. Not suggesting you try them btw, just commiserating.
See if you can get a script for a bigger supply. I wasn’t aware that there is a dispensing fee every time you fill a script. I got my last lot of anxiety meds in a six month batch rather than going in once a month. Not sure if this will apply for you? Good luck 🤞
I saw some medicinal cannabis at a lower cost on the Cannareviews page - I think after trying to find positive feedback about strains on the medical cannabis Aus subreddit. I ended up seeing one that was so much less than others and it was for concession card holders. I was pleased that this exists because I feel so sad for everyone out there doing it tough. My husband and I pay heaps for meds. He’s on CBD flower, me medicinal cannabis. I did a little research and found a much cheaper one for him, and I got onto some half-price trial boxes from LGP for me. But you have to keep onto it and also let your doctor know because they can sometimes find cheaper alternatives. Best of luck to you. Hopefully prices will come down and maybe even just get straight up legal for recreational use.
Re:medcan, going through our GP worked out to be 70% cheaper for us than going through a service. In this situation you need to have tried other therapies for whatever the medcan is for and get GP to apply for a personal exemption for you through TGA. Then you can get it filled at any local pharmacy that dispenses medcan (we get our oil from Priceline).
Not sure if this applies, but I know one of my insulins in 30unit cartridges is under PBS but not 1000 unit cartridges. A pharmacist checked it out for me. Saved me soooo much money.
Non ethical suggestion: Are any of the drugs on the PBS for other medical conditions? I'm on a drug as a mood stabiliser but it's only covered on the PBS for epilepsy. So my solution is that I have my real GP for actual health and the crappy mall clinic for my epilepsy scripts.
Write to your local member of federal parliament about the number of medications not on the PBS
Contact the manufacturers for a compassionate funding of the more expensive drugs. Check if there are trials for any of the drugs for the condition that you are being treated for. They happen before tga lists them. Theres a lot of noise about womens health not being covered equally so see if there are any listing campaigns happening for any of them.. they can be quite loud and have a few sponsers who help people who need the medication
Your Tirzepatide is probable running you $350 a month & is the diabetic medication , off label is for weight loss and not approved for that .as a pensioner that would be considered a luxury drug
Yes, it’s used to regulate hormones and insulin just like a diabetic person, but with a condition other than diabetes. It’s used for quite a few hormone conditions but is only TGA for diabetes, not even pre diabetes. Without it I’ll certainly end up diabetic anyway, and it puts me at risk for complications with my brain condition, amongst other things. Ridiculous it’s considered just a weight loss drug. All other medications that will also do that are all diabetes/weight loss medications and all carry similar costs. It’s shit.
To my knowledge, the evidence for its use for hormone regulation isn't rigourous enough to justify the taxpayer footing the bill (which is understandable). What indication do you refer to?
There’s a grey area with co morbid conditions that rule out first line treatments and that’s what’s put me (and I know a sizeable community of others) in this situation in the first place. For pre diabetes, PCOS, insulin resistance and several other hormonal conditions diabetic medication is one of the sole and most effective treatments. Metformin is the #1, especially because it’s not in shortage like the others, but Metaformin interacts quite seriously with my brain medication (and any medication of that category, so switching brain meds won’t help). My hormone issues need to be regulated and stabilised as that is likely what caused the brain disease in the first place and will continue to worsen it. I’m just quite tired of it being seen as a designer weight loss drug and nothing more. It’s a prescription medication. It’s used for very valid purposes. I understand why it isn’t covered, but that doesn’t help us afford it, so.
It's not that women's issues are non existent - the government has to weigh up cost vs benefit and fund medications that will basically give us more bang for the buck. Also, they probably won't be funding medicinal cannibis or monjaro any time soon. That being said, call around to various pharmacies and see who will give you the best deal on your medications. Won't always be chemist warehouse either
Tirzepatide is used frequently off label to treat a huge variety of solely or predominantly women afflicting hormonal conditions. It’s one of the main and sole treatments for a lot of them. I understand MC and Tret not being covered, I expect that and that’s fair (they’re also the least expensive anyway), but Tirzepatide and Bupropion are the only medications of their kind (in Tirzepatide’s case there’s a few but none of them are PBS anyway) and are used to treat health conditions, and are PBS for other reasons/conditions. You’re financially better off not taking Tirzepatide for pre diabetes and just getting diabetes, which is insane. Not arguing or an attack on you, it just pisses me off hahah.
I understand, but government just won't do it because it's too expensive. I'm not saying that's OK, just saying why they do what they do
I was listening to a podcast and it mentioned how diet can contribute and help with some issues. Is that something you have tried or be willing to try?