About one-third of Australian women taking the oral contraceptive pill are being discriminated against because their prescribed pill is not on the PBS, a leading endocrinologist says.

Professor Susan Davis, director of the women’s health research program at Monash University, says the lack of subsidised third- or fourth-generation combined oral contraceptive (COC) pills on the PBS is “discriminatory”.

She says a high proportion of mainly younger women with premenstrual symptoms, hirsutism, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, PCOS and acne are being unfairly disadvantaged as their only option is to fork out between $50 and $90 for a three-month supply of the COCs recommended by their doctor.

Professor Davis and colleagues have surveyed nearly 7000 women of reproductive age, revealing that 31% of COC users are paying for non-PBS-listed brands containing cyproterone, drospirenone, gestodene or desogestrel.