By Tess Ikonomou in Canberra

Women are twice as likely as men to say they cannot afford a prescription for themselves or their families, data reveals as pharmacists urge greater funding to help patients access life-saving medication.

One in four women could not afford a script over the past three years amid cost-of-living pressures, according to research commissioned by the Pharmacy Guild.

This rose to one-in-three women for those aged 35-54, according to a survey of more than 2800 people. The number reporting money as a barrier to accessing medication has also risen by one-third since 2022.

Overall, one in five Australians reported skipping a prescription, which increases to one-in-three people in regional areas.

The findings have prompted the pharmacy sector to call for the prescription co-payment to be reduced from $30 to $19.

Sydney pharmacist and Pharmacy Guild national councillor Catherine Bronger said she saw women every day who struggle to pay for prescriptions.

“You shouldn’t have to choose between medication, it shouldn’t be a luxury and we shouldn’t be having this conversation,” she said.

“Women tend to be the ones that come into the pharmacy, for their families and for themselves. It can be for a chronic condition like preventative asthma medications, where they would wait a little longer and stretch out their meds a little bit.”

It can be difficult talking to patients about them skipping a script as people were quite proud and did not want to admit they couldn’t afford their medication, Ms Bronger said.

The Albanese government has pledged to boost funding for Medicare by $8.5 billion if re-elected. The coalition has matched that commitment, in addition to promising $500 million for extra mental health support.

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