Page 17 | Helping the government save money

Samdelila · 2026-01-23T18:49:08+00:00

I think free prescriptions for people with certain conditions should be means tested. What else could the government cut to save money?

Egglio · 23/01/2026 19:54

@Samdelila is it just prescriptions you're focusing on or do you have other ideas? Wondering as you ignored @Boudy about the House of Lords.

I would say these people could afford their own food and drink without subsidy.

Original poster

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:53

taxguru · 23/01/2026 19:42

Even worse is prescribing expensive drugs that the patient won't use. My DH is on lifetime chemotherapy maintenance and one particular chemotherapy drug costs over £1k per tablet. He takes 1 every two weeks, but the "usual" drugs package is 3 per month, so every month, he has one tablet left over that he doesn't take. At £1k per tablet! His haematologist who issues the prescription says "it's too hard" to change the standard prescription package as it would need to go to some kind of "board" within the trust to change the pre-approved prescription. That's not the only expensive drug either. He has another chemotherapy drug that he should take 21 days out of 28. The haematologist recommends he only takes one every other day instead of every day due to side-effects, so that's 10/11 tablets per month that go unused - cost not quite so high, but still over £100 per tablet. He's mentioned it to the haematologist many times but she just shrugs and says she's got the "budget" allocated so it doesn't "cost" her dept anything for the over-prescription! Utter madness.

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Wow. Such waste! It’s shocking.

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JoshLymanSwagger · 23/01/2026 19:50

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:49

Just because a condition leads to additional costs doesn’t mean people should get free prescriptions that they don’t need. And I don’t believe means testing is as complicated as you think. We know which people haven’t got enough to live on - they’re already in receipt of benefits.

It would save the country a large fortune just to stop paying benefits and give out free drugs instead.

Original poster

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:50

ZookeeperSE · 23/01/2026 19:46

Your response bears no relation to the question. So I’ll assume that you don’t understand the founding principle.

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Its irrelevant.

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bathsmat · 23/01/2026 19:49

care in the home needs to include housing as well.

Original poster

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:49

Just because a condition leads to additional costs doesn’t mean people should get free prescriptions that they don’t need. And I don’t believe means testing is as complicated as you think. We know which people haven’t got enough to live on - they’re already in receipt of benefits.

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Nevermind17 · 23/01/2026 19:49

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:09

I know someone who earns more than £200,000 who has diabetes type 2 and gets all her prescriptions for free, so people like her basically.

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Her taxes will more than cover the £100 a year she’s saving by not having to buy a pre-payment certificate.

User1990C · 23/01/2026 19:48

Paying more in taxes than most people earn in a year and you want to get £9.90 out of them for their medical condition? You're the problem.

bathsmat · 23/01/2026 19:48

@Samdelila we can’t just keeping targeting income, there is too much disparity

Boudy · 23/01/2026 19:47

@taxguru I am sorry to read about your dh. I agree that is completely shocking re the meds!

bathsmat · 23/01/2026 19:46

edwinbear · 23/01/2026 19:44

On £200k a year she’s not getting much back for the £75k a year she pays in tax. No tax free allowance, no personal savings allowance, no free childcare, no child benefit etc. I don’t begrudge her free prescriptions.

Make her pay for prescriptions but remove the tax cliff edges

ZookeeperSE · 23/01/2026 19:46

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:40

We have already identified the people who need these handouts - they are the ones claiming benefits. There’s no need to means test people.

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Your response bears no relation to the question. So I’ll assume that you don’t understand the founding principle.

Bushmillsbabe · 23/01/2026 19:46

taxguru · 23/01/2026 19:42

Even worse is prescribing expensive drugs that the patient won't use. My DH is on lifetime chemotherapy maintenance and one particular chemotherapy drug costs over £1k per tablet. He takes 1 every two weeks, but the "usual" drugs package is 3 per month, so every month, he has one tablet left over that he doesn't take. At £1k per tablet! His haematologist who issues the prescription says "it's too hard" to change the standard prescription package as it would need to go to some kind of "board" within the trust to change the pre-approved prescription. That's not the only expensive drug either. He has another chemotherapy drug that he should take 21 days out of 28. The haematologist recommends he only takes one every other day instead of every day due to side-effects, so that's 10/11 tablets per month that go unused - cost not quite so high, but still over £100 per tablet. He's mentioned it to the haematologist many times but she just shrugs and says she's got the "budget" allocated so it doesn't "cost" her dept anything for the over-prescription! Utter madness.

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Surely you/the dr can just request the prescription every 6 weeks rather than every month?

edwinbear · 23/01/2026 19:44

On £200k a year she’s not getting much back for the £75k a year she pays in tax. No tax free allowance, no personal savings allowance, no free childcare, no child benefit etc. I don’t begrudge her free prescriptions.

ZookeeperSE · 23/01/2026 19:44

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:35

But we can’t afford to give freebies to people who have a lot of money.

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You can’t afford not to.
Or else those people may all start voting for parties that will happily take away the basic principles of the NHS - free at the point of use for all - and make a pay per use system that the Something for Something demographic can still easily afford but the Something for Nothing demographic won’t be able to. But it’ll be too late by then, and there won’t be an alternative for them anymore.

(And they aren’t ‘freebies’ if your tax bill is higher than most people’s income)

Original poster

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:44

OneZanyPoet · 23/01/2026 19:27

The best way to save the NHS money is for people to stop smoking and drinking and lose weight. You can start taking people’s free insulin away once you put down the sausage rolls.

Measures should of course be taken to help people be healthier, but we can also stop handing out free prescriptions to people who don’t need them. The two things are not mutually exclusive.

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Bushmillsbabe · 23/01/2026 19:43

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:09

I know someone who earns more than £200,000 who has diabetes type 2 and gets all her prescriptions for free, so people like her basically.

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The most she would likely pay in is the cost of a prescription pre payment certificate, which is about £140 a year. I dint really begrudge her that, based on how much she must be putting into the system every year.

Also, many conditions come with additional costs - for example my daughter is coeliac and therefore gets bread on prescription. But we have to pay on average triple for her pasta, cakes, biscuits, cereal etc. The free prescription for many people only covers a really small proportion of the additional costs of their condition, so I definitely don't begrudge it.

For it to be worth means testing, it would need to raise more than it costs as an overall policy (not per person) as only a proportion would be eligible to pay.

TheBlueKoala · 23/01/2026 19:43

PIP and DLA. It's ridiculous handing out money to millionnaires who don't need it. I can't even imagine applying for it if I didn't need it. Know 3 people who get it for autism/adhd and anxiety. One is very well off and is not anxious at all but likes to play the system. Her family is embarrassed and even offered to give her the 400 £ per month but it's like a game to her. The other two both work and don't have any extra costs due to their autism and adhd for the other which I think should be a criteria to get it.

WMW · 23/01/2026 19:43

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:35

But we can’t afford to give freebies to people who have a lot of money.

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Tell that to Rachel Reeves, while she freezes prescription charges but sits back as pubs and restaurants close down (and people lose their jobs) thanks to her policies.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-freezes-charges-to-keep-prescriptions-under-a-tenner

Chancellor freezes charges to keep prescriptions under a tenner

The Chancellor is extending the freeze on NHS prescription charges next year to keep prescriptions under a tenner, saving patients around £12 million next year.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-freezes-charges-to-keep-prescriptions-under-a-tenner

taxguru · 23/01/2026 19:42

Boudy · 23/01/2026 19:34

Also..not throwing away unused vials of controlled drugs.that are .well within date..when patient has died or does not require them anymore. Am sure people will say it is because there is risk of contamination/ tampering with but there must be a way to check.

Even worse is prescribing expensive drugs that the patient won't use. My DH is on lifetime chemotherapy maintenance and one particular chemotherapy drug costs over £1k per tablet. He takes 1 every two weeks, but the "usual" drugs package is 3 per month, so every month, he has one tablet left over that he doesn't take. At £1k per tablet! His haematologist who issues the prescription says "it's too hard" to change the standard prescription package as it would need to go to some kind of "board" within the trust to change the pre-approved prescription. That's not the only expensive drug either. He has another chemotherapy drug that he should take 21 days out of 28. The haematologist recommends he only takes one every other day instead of every day due to side-effects, so that's 10/11 tablets per month that go unused - cost not quite so high, but still over £100 per tablet. He's mentioned it to the haematologist many times but she just shrugs and says she's got the "budget" allocated so it doesn't "cost" her dept anything for the over-prescription! Utter madness.

Original poster

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:41

bathsmat · 23/01/2026 19:39

@Samdelila even if you have more than one?

Yes.

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Original poster

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:40

ZookeeperSE · 23/01/2026 19:37

Do you understand the fundamental reasoning behind Beveridge’s opposition to means testing?

Nothing has changed since he wrote his report.

If you ultimately want to demolish the welfare state, then means testing everything is a great place to start.

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We have already identified the people who need these handouts - they are the ones claiming benefits. There’s no need to means test people.

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bathsmat · 23/01/2026 19:39

@Samdelila even if you have more than one?

Original poster

Samdelila · 23/01/2026 19:38

Boudy · 23/01/2026 19:34

Also..not throwing away unused vials of controlled drugs.that are .well within date..when patient has died or does not require them anymore. Am sure people will say it is because there is risk of contamination/ tampering with but there must be a way to check.

Yes! This too. So much unnecessary waste. It’s just like pouring money down the drain.

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taxguru · 23/01/2026 19:37

OswaldCobblepot · 23/01/2026 19:26

It's hardly a freebie. His/her tax bill will be eye-watering.

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Missing the point. Paying taxes isn't some kind of rewards/points scheme. It's to pay for the country's public services, infrastructure, etc. There really shouldn't be the mentality of "getting something extra" back for it.