“Some can only afford two on the day. They might pick up their insulin and inhaler and they have to go without the high blood pressure medication,’' he said.
“Not every community needs this but Rotorua definitely does.”
Unichem The Mall Pharmacy owner and pharmacist Brett Fordyce said he personally thought the Government’s announcement was “a very good idea”.
“We’ve all seen people who haven’t been able to afford their medication,” Fordyce said.
“They can now collect all of their medication at once rather than having to come into town several times because they’ve got $10 today and $15 tomorrow.”
Fordyce said he believed the decision would “definitely have a positive impact overall”.
Asthma and Respiratory Management Bay of Plenty Incorporated nurse Debbie Elliott said she hoped the change would improve compliance with the use of preventer inhalers.
“Hopefully we’ll see better control of people’s asthma,” Elliott said.
“People won’t often pick up their prescription for preventer inhalers because of the charges. Those on a monthly inhaler can see the cost as a barrier due to it being ongoing.
“But for asthmatics, the preventer inhaler is there to prevent lung damage in the future so it is important to use it regularly as prescribed.”
About 135,000 adults did not collect their prescriptions because of cost in 2021-22, Verrall said.
In his speech to Parliament at the Budget 2023 announcement, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the decision meant an estimated three million people will no longer have to worry about the cost of collecting medication.
“Last year more than 29 million items were dispensed that attracted the $5 co-payment. This will be a helpful saving for millions of Kiwis.”
