Menopause treatments to be subsidised as Labor pledges half a billion for women’s health

The Albanese government has pledged to add hormone replacement therapies and new oral contraceptives to the list of federally subsidised medicines for the first time in three decades.

The promise is part of a suite of women’s health policies worth $573m announced on Sunday, which also includes boosts to Medicare rebates for women getting long-term contraceptives, such as IUDs and those seeking menopause health assessments.

Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells said that women’s health “has been long neglected”.

“The ability to go to a chemist and get an oral contraceptive or UTI treatment is something that people desperately need when we know young women increasingly don’t even have a regular GP,” she told Sky News.

“So that’s a really important cost-of-living initiative, let alone the fact that there hasn’t been an oral contraceptive added to the PBS in more than 30 years.”

In a press conference on Sunday, federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler said “you simply can’t be serious about strengthening Medicare without a serious focus on women’s health.”

“Women consume about 60 per cent of all health services in this country and they face a range of significant costs simply by virtue of being women, particularly around contraception and during perimenopause and menopause,” he said.

“Through a range of pieces of work, particularly Senate inquiries that Senator Marielle Smith has led and Ged Kearney’s work through the Advisory Council, it’s been very clear to us that women simply haven’t been getting the level of support they deserve through our healthcare system for too long.

“Today’s landmark package reverses decades of neglect and finally delivers Australia’s women more choice, better care and lower costs.”

Labor’s proposal would provide more Medicare funding support for people experiencing menopause by facilitating rebates for health assessments, training of health professionals and delivering the first-ever clinical guidelines and a national awareness campaign.

The plan would also see around 150,000 women save on menopausal hormone therapies, with Prometrium®, Estrogel® and Estrogel® Pr being added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), along with oral contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin.

The Albanese government would also add 11 new endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics across the country, raising the number of clinics from 22 to 33.

The clinics would also include support for menopause.

Opposition frontbencher Michaelia Cash said the Coalition would support the Albanese government’s proposal and pledged to “match the announcement” if it won government.