patient eligibility criteria such a pathology test results are usually required. Some drugs may have Authority Required (Streamlined) status which does not require an explicit approval from Medicare, instead the doctor can use the Authority code found in the published Schedule for a given drug/indication. 2016 removal of medications In 2016, 17 types of medication were removed from the PBS, including Panadol Osteo, aspirin, iron/folic supplements, electrolytes, and laxatives. Other medications include medication for reflux, skin allergies, antacids, urine test strips, and Vitamin B12 injections. The change is expected to save approximately $87 million a year. Sustainability In its first year, the PBS cost the Commonwealth Government £149,000 (or $7,600,000 in 2009). The PBS now costs the Commonwealth approximately $6.5 billion a year to operate, despite consumers contributing around $1.3 billion in patient co-payments. According to a report by the Australian Productivity Commission the PBS is expected to cost 2.6% of Australia's GDP by 2045 up from 0.7% in 2005. Further attempts to restrain the growth in costs of the PBS may be needed, however, attempts to increase consumer prices of drugs have always proved politically unpopular. The comparative cost-effectiveness processes of the PBS nonetheless ensure it provides Australian citizens with more equitable access to medicines than in many other developed nations and for many the issue of sustainability of the PBS as a key component of the egalitarian architecture of Australian society is equivalent to asking whether that nation's education system or defence forces are sustainable. Former federal Treasurer Peter Costello and the Liberal Party attempted to raise the patient co-payment of PBS medicines by up to 30 per cent in the 2002 Federal Budget, however this measure was blocked in the Senate in which various minor parties held the balance of power. However, in June 2004 the main opposition party, the Australian Labor Party, announced that it would allow the PBS co-payment increases to proceed through the Senate. The Grattan Institute Report March 2013 Grattan Institute Health Program released a report titled "Australia’s bad drug deal" by Dr Stephen Duckett, in which he states that Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme pays at least $1.3 billion a year too much for prescription drugs. New Zealand, which has capped its budget and appointed independent experts to make decisions through the Pharmaceutical Management Agency (Pharmac), pays a sixth as much as the PBS for the same drugs. Public hospitals in two Australian