Guild celebrates great day for New Zealanders health with $5 prescription charge removal

The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (the Guild) welcomes the government’s removal of the $5 prescription charge today.

Guild Chief Executive, Andrew Gaudin says “Removing the prescription charge will ensure that all New Zealanders, regardless of where they live, can access the vital medicines they need without having to worry about cost. This will help New Zealanders to stay well and out of hospital. This means there will be less pressure on the health system, resulting in savings for taxpayers.

“The removal of this charge is also an excellent cost-of-living measure, that will return around $150 million each year into the back-pockets of New Zealanders.

“This is a great day for community pharmacy, as it will help maintain our current diverse network of community pharmacies across New Zealand. Every day our members help thousands of New Zealanders, and they know how great this will be for them, with patients no longer having to make difficult choices about which medicines to collect due to cost.”

Guild President, Des Bailey says, “We are delighted the government has removed the charge today and we are pleased to have supported making this happen. We have been strongly advocating for this change for many years because we know what a difference this will make to the health of New Zealanders and the wider health system”.