What happens if you can't afford your medication?

[Frequency]

I can btw, this is not a begging thread, but I'm taking the money from my savings, and I don't always have money in my savings, which has got me pondering.

If I didn't have savings and my asthma medication ran out, is there a scheme where I can buy now, pay later, or is it a case of risking death or needing A&E?

Are there any other life-saving medications you have to pay for, or is it just asthma? I know my mum gets free prescriptions because she needs thyroid medication, but that doesn't seem as serious or life-threatening as asthma to me.

What's the criteria for a medication being free, and why doesn't it seem to make sense?

Move to wales. Prescriptions are free for all. Not means tested at all.

How much does an inhaler cost?

I've wondered this too. I'm in Wales, so everyone gets free prescriptions. Im assuming you have to be on UC or pension to get it free in England. I imagine single people, who arent entitled to UC, even on minimum wage, probably struggle to afford it.

£9.50 isn't it? The standard prescription fee. I know in the scheme of things it doesn't seem a lot, but I sometimes don't have £9.50, and I can't be the only one whose money doesn't always last until the end of the month.

Surely you buy a yearly prepayment certificate which makes it a lot cheaper??

You can do an annual prescirion thing, which means basically you don’t need to worry month to month of you take it out your savings once a year. But I’d say essential meds are one of rhe things you need to budget for, like food and housing.

I think I've looked into this before, and it only works out if you get multiple medications. I only need one inhaler a month.

I too was wondering about this. I live in Wales. Im on 4 different meds. If I had to pay every month for all of them , I dont know what that would cost if I lived in England. It must be very tough on a lot of people.

I have a prepayment certificate but that’s only worthwhile if you have an average of more than 2 prescriptions a month.

It’s bizarre that some long term conditions mean free prescriptions and some don’t. I have medication for an underactive thyroid, hashimotos, and get free prescriptions. Whilst my asthmatic sister, who struggles a lot with her condition, has to pay. It’s unfair.

I think it’s still a few quid cheaper. The question I think is why don’t you have a tenner left when you know you need to buy essential medication, why can’t it be earmarked.

If you are going through a whole blue inhaler each and every month it would be worth seeing your asthma nurse. That isn't controlled asthma.

How many inhalers do you take and how often do they need replacing?
A prescription is 10 quid. If you need to dip into savings for 10 quid, the situation is pretty bad. Have you checked if you're entitled to anything?

If someone can’t afford a prescription charge they probably can’t afford all the costs involved in moving house…
It is something I’ve thought about too OP. DH is asthmatic and he’s been struggling to control it. Last week he was prescribed a different inhalers, an antihistamine and some steroids, so 4 prescription charges in one. It’s a lot of money!

Surely, if you don’t have £10 for essential medication this means you’re not budgeting properly?

I would suggest putting maybe £5 a month to one side, as soon as you get paid, specifically for your meds. Then you know you have it to dip into should you need to.

Only a fairly small percentage of the population actually pays prescription charges.

I guess someone on the breadline could cut a few meals out to free up the extra cash?

My DS has to pay for EpiPens, even though he will almost definitely die without them if he has an attack (he has multiple severe allergies).

I was shocked to find that, at 60, I no longer had to pay for prescriptions! I was still working and perfectly able to pay for the two or three prescriptions a year that I use (also for asthma). It made me feel suddenly really old...

I take two kinds of medicine for epilepsy here in Australia scripts aren't free so I have to pay every month it's the First thing I budget for because I know I need it

So it's £10 regardless of how many meds each month?

Can you put 50p a week away?

@Automagical
Why only a small percentage pay? I would have assumed anyone working would have to pay

No, the prescription charge is per item.

A prepayment certificate works out cheaper as long as you have more than 12 prescriptions a year.