PBS Campaign Analysis: Australian Government Policy and Politics

This report analyzes the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) campaign initiated by the Australian government. The PBS aims to provide subsidized prescription drugs to citizens and eligible visitors, addressing the issue of unaffordable medications. The government's significant role involves collaboration with pharmaceutical companies like ViiV Healthcare Limited and GlaxoSmithKline to ensure affordable drug prices. Using the power-interest grid, the government is categorized as 'manage closely' due to its high involvement and interest in the program. The Department of Health monitors the PBS, ensuring the efficient delivery of medicines and contributing to the welfare of a large portion of the population. The report highlights the success of the PBS, emphasizing the positive impact on citizens' access to affordable medicines and their overall health, which is largely attributed to the support and monitoring of the Australian government.

Running head: GOVERNMENT POLICY AND POLITICS
GOVERNMENT POLICY AND POLITICS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1GOVERNMENT POLICY AND POLITICS
The Australian government is considered to be great and farsighted because the
government ensures the welfare of the citizens of the country in terms of economy, health and
many more. The government of Australia has come up with several campaigns which aim on
addressing several issues and overcoming those issues for the benefits of the people. One of
the most famous campaigns initiated by the government is the Pharmaceutical Benefit
Scheme.
The Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) is the program which the government of
Australia initiated which provides the citizens of Australia with subsidized prescription drugs
and also to some foreign visitors who are covered by the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement
(Pbs.gov.au 2020). In Australia, there were many people who did not have access to any kind
of medication because of their financial condition which led to the suffering of the people.
Thus, to ensure that all the citizens of the country could have an access to medicines for their
treatment, the government came up with this initiative.
The government of Australia has a huge role to play in this campaign and is highly
involved in the scheme. The government has collaborated with big pharmaceutical companies
like ViiV Healthcare Limited and GlaxoSmithKline for the supply of medicines in order to
ensure that the people do not have to suffer because of the high price of the drugs and also
their overall wellbeing.

2GOVERNMENT POLICY AND POLITICS
Image: Power-interest grid
According to the power-interest grid, the government falls under the category,
manage closely. The government has both high power as well as interest on this campaign as
they are seen to be highly involved in the process (Slabá 2016). If the government does not
show any kind of interest or has low interest then it is likely that the PBS will cease to exist.
It is the power of the government that has led to the formation of such a big campaign which
is helping the citizens of the country and ensuring their welfare.
It is the intervention of the government that has led the major pharmaceutical
companies to participate and provide medicines to the people of the country at a cheaper rate.
As this program is highly monitored by the Department of Health, the operations of this
program are conducted smoothly and do cater to 70% of the citizens of the country and has
contributed to their welfare.

3GOVERNMENT POLICY AND POLITICS
The Department of Health is the part of the government and it efficiently monitors
whether the medicines are delivered to the people of the country or not. Thus, the citizens
have been provided with a PBS prescriber number so that they can prescribe PBS medicines
and the pharmacists should have a PBS approval number in order to supply. This systematic
tactic has made the program or the campaign a huge success and is still a huge success in the
country.
The Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme did benefit the citizens of the country and has
helped many to avail affordable medicines which has helped them in recovering from
diseases and helped them in leading a healthy life however, this would have been impossible
without the support and the monitoring of the government of Australia which is one of the
main reasons for the success of this campaign.

4GOVERNMENT POLICY AND POLITICS
Reference
Pbs.gov.au. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) | About the PBS.
http://www.pbs.gov.au/info/about-the-pbs (accessed Jan 23, 2020).
Slabá, Marie. "Stakeholder profile and stakeholder mapping of SMEs." Littera Scripta 9.1
(2016): 123-139.