A fresh warning - bringing back the five dollar co-payment for prescriptions could see a jump in hospital admissions

The Government has indicated it intends to bring back the fee.

A new study by Victoria University researchers in the New Zealand Medical Journal analysed health data for more than 70-thousand people.

Victoria University Associate Professor Mona Jeffreys says their findings mount a case for keeping free prescriptions in place.

She says they found people who couldn't afford at least one item of a prescription in any one year, were about 34 percent more likely to end up in hospital.