Six million Australians will save up to $180 on medicine repeats as part of a cost-of-living measure to be unveiled in next month’s budget.

Under a simple change allowing two months’ of medicine to be dispensed from a single script (currently limited to one month), general patients will save up to $180 a year, while concession card holders will save up to $43.80 a medicine.

Between fewer visits to the GP and pharmacist the total saving to patients from the measure will top $1.6 billion over the next four years.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of calls for the government to do more to alleviate poverty, and as the expenditure review committee of cabinet meets to determine the final shape of the May 9 budget.

Savings from the policy could be even greater for many patients and would amount to $360 annually if two eligible subsidised, 60-day prescriptions were used.

Earlier this year, the maximum co-payment for general payment was reduced from $42.50 to $30, as part of the government’s cheaper medicines policy.

“Already it has saved Australians over $58 million on 5.1 million prescriptions,” Health Minister Mark Butler said.

“Every year, nearly a million Australians are forced to delay or go without a medicine that their doctor has told them is necessary for their health.

“This cheaper medicines policy is safe, good for Australians’ hip pockets and most importantly good for their health.”

About 320 medicines have been accepted by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee as suitable for increased dispensing quantities.

Hundreds of medicines for conditions like heart disease, cholesterol, Crohn’s disease and hypertension are included.

Some 900,000 Australians delay buying medicine that their doctor has said is necessary for their health because of the cost, ABS data shows.

The new policy would save $720 per year in the case of a family of four whose members were each taking an eligible medicine for a chronic condition.

The government assessed increasing the maximum dispensable amounts of selected PBS medicines for chronic conditions in August 2018, but did not adopt a recommendation to allow up to 12 months’ supply in total before a new script is required.

Nine reported that the government was set to respond to a recommendation from the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce to raise a payment for single parents that is currently restricted to parents with children aged under eight.

A spokeswoman for the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, declined to comment on those reports.

“We take seriously the suggestions put to us. We work through them in a methodical way, and any measures will be clear on budget night,” the spokeswoman said.