What does the PBS Safety Net do?

• A. It caps all PBS medication costs at a fixed rate for everyone.
• B. It protects individuals and families from large overall expenses for PBS-listed medicines.
• C. It removes subsidies for low-income earners.
• D. It only applies to non-prescribed medicines.

Answer: (B)

The Safety Net is about protecting households from high annual costs for PBS-listed medicines. As you or your family members purchase PBS prescriptions, the amounts you pay accumulate toward a yearly threshold. Once that threshold is reached, further PBS medicines are subsidized more (often with a reduced contribution or no cost) for the rest of the year, helping to keep ongoing medicine costs affordable. This mechanism provides protection against unexpectedly large bills and makes prescription costs more predictable. It applies to prescription medicines on the PBS and different thresholds apply for concession card holders versus general patients. It does not cap everyone’s costs at a single fixed rate, it doesn’t remove subsidies outright for low-income earners in all cases, and it isn’t about non-prescribed medicines.