Podcast

The first issue we identified for the next round of negotiations for the Commonwealth's agreements with industry groups was renewing the committees that conduct health technology assessments. The second, which may not yet be on the agenda, is rules and accountability.

Government spending on organised immunisation reached $2.59 billion in 2024-25, almost half of Australia's public health expenditure, according to new figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

People living with multiple sclerosis have told the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee that patients who are stable on their treatment should not be forced to switch medicines.

BioPharmaDispatch-BPDInsights.ai will open the day with findings from a reader survey, including AI use in health technology assessment. The report will be launched.

Yet the law remains the same. Under section 101 of the National Health Act 1953, the PBAC must prioritise a medicine's effectiveness and cost compared with alternative therapies. The Act does not require the consideration of, or make any reference to, consumer input.

In the first article in a series, we highlight issues that may not currently be on the agenda but should be. Health Minister Mark Butler has said HTA reform will be finalised through agreement negotiations, with advice from advisory committees. If so, the negotiations are the right forum to discuss governance, starting with term limits.

Since March, the organisation has raised with Aged Care Minister Sam Rae the loss of access to Continuous Glucose Monitoring and Dose Administration Aids that followed the Government's move of older Australians from the Home Care Package Program to the Support at Home Program.

Is this the worst time to be negotiating an agreement? History offers some competition. What is unquestionably different is the program’s financial capacity to fund innovation. The imperative is to negotiate these agreements with a strategic, long-term focus on access to innovation. 

The number of Australians registered with the National Diabetes Services Scheme fell in 2025-26, and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has named the growing use of GLP-1 medicines as one reason.

Australian patients are missing out on nearly 200 medicines that are standard of care in comparable countries, according to a new report. It says two decades of policy focused on managing government spending have led to a decline in Commonwealth expenditure on medicines.

Seth D. Ginsberg, co-founder and president of Global Healthy Living Foundation Australia, said, "This is an important moment to raise awareness of Thyroid Eye Disease in Australia and the significant impact it can have on a person's quality of life."

Asked whether it is now evolving into something closer to an AI-powered health technology developer, Burton does not hesitate. "Yeah, I think so," he says.