After US President Donald Trump's announcement on Thursday, the prime minister visited a pharmacy in Melbourne's north in a show of support for the sector and Australia's envied pharmaceutical benefits scheme.
US pharmaceutical giants have previously claimed Australia was engaging in "egregious and discriminatory" pricing policies because it subsidises multiple medicines.
Mr Albanese says the operation of the scheme, which allows Australia to negotiate as a nation with drug companies, is not up for negotiation.
He visited the Bell Street Pharmacy owned by George Spyropoulos in the Labor-held seat of Wills, which is under threat from the Greens.
Labor is trying to sandbag vital seats in Victoria, while distancing itself from the state's unpopular premier Jacinta Allan, ahead of the May 3 election.
Mr Albanese campaigned in Melbourne on Wednesday, but without Ms Allan.
In his first week of the election campaign, the prime minister stood beside Labor premiers Roger Cook and Peter Malinauskas in their home states while making joint health funding announcements.Â
With more than a dozen of Victoria's 38 electorates up for grabs, people within Labor are concerned Ms Allan will inflict damage on the federal government's efforts to win a second term.
"Parliament is sitting," Mr Albanese said on Wednesday in response to a question about her absence.
"It's this little thing called parliament."
Angela Crawley, a resident in Melbourne's south, said the federal government had not done enough to help with cost-of-living pressures.
Asked if the performance of the state Labor government influenced how she felt about federal Labor, Ms Crawley said it was "hard not to".
"It's hard to hear or see very much difference between them," she told AAP.
"Having suffered under the Labor government in Victoria years and years, it's hard not to have thoughts of federal being much different from that.
"Yes, one does impact the other."
University student James O'Hehir said he did not feel Labor had done enough to provide relief.
"A lot of young people I know are struggling to keep up with balancing school with work and making ends meet," he said.
The McKell Institute - a Labor-aligned think thank - released a report on Thursday that shows the government's closing the loopholes legislation will likely contribute to a total annual wage increase of up to $920.3 million.
The laws, which came into effect in November, mean labour hire workers can apply for the same pay as permanent employees doing comparable work.
Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said workers who did the same job deserved the same pay as their colleagues.
"Peter Dutton and the coalition want to scrap these laws, the very laws that are making sure people are being paid fairly," he said.
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