News From The Drug War Front -Podcast- 16th May 2023

News From The Drug War Front Podcast.

Quite a few good stories this week, but arguably the most important is this, announced last week....

A huge potential benefit nationally for consumers of Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST), also known as Opiate Dependency Treatment Program (ODTP) is close at hand after a recent announcement by the federal government.

The announcement comes after a 2-year review process involving consumer consultation and seeks to make the ODTP system in Australia more equitable and accessible to people.

Broadly, the plan is to put ODTP medication (buprenorphine and methadone preparations) onto an s100 schedule which would mean that people would no longer have to pay dosing fees every day, but rather would just have to pay the gap fee every 28 days (around $7 if you have a health care card and around $34 if you just have Medicare card). The pharmacy will be reimbursed by the federal government for the cost of dispensing etc.

Also, because it is a gap payment, the payments made would count towards the safety net (which at present ODTP dispensing fees do not count toward).This is a huge win for our community and something that our peak body, AIVL, has been advocating for over 30 years. We will keep you up to date on developments.

The show is co-presented by Geoff Ward and Marion Watson.