The Federal Government is considering lifting the PBS ban on Australia’s 42,000 prisoners, taking the suggestion to the PBAC’s March meeting.

Prisoners have been excluded from the PBS and Medicare since their inception on the basis it would duplicate state and territory justice health services, which have maintained responsibility for prison healthcare.

But advocates have argued this two-tier system has contributed to morbidity and mortality in prisons.

Brett Collins, an advocate for prisoners for more than 30 years and a co-ordinator for lobby group Justice Action, said healthcare was “the highest concern” among inmates.