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?

I can only order one a month. If I lose it, I need to make an appointment with the GP to get a new one.

I agree that you need to ask the GP for an asthma review - I'm on Fostair Nexthaler (powder inhaler now, a combined steroid and reliever) and I've gone from needing multiple inhalers regularly to one lasting 2-3 months.

Also, if you are on a low enough income that you can't afford your prescriptions, can you talk to the pharmacy about possible solutions?

Look at the BHSF health cash back plan. You can get different levels but the first starts at £9.63 per month and you can claim back cost of prescriptions, dental treatment costs, glasses and other things. I don’t know if it would work out cheaper for you but I think it’s worth taking a look.

The trick, as I learned previously, is to buy the 3 month one, but get four scripts in, by getting the first one as late as possible and the last one as early a possible, then skip a month because you've got that month covered, then buy the next 3m one as late as you can to ensure you can get your fourth in before it ends. And so on.

If I need to order early I just tell them I'm going away so need it a bit early this month.

In that case, can you ask to have two ordered at once? They did for me when I said I lost one once at a really bad time, and i had no spares. I explained how dangerous that was and how if I always had two this wouldn't happen.

You can have more than one inhaler on a pescription - I have 2 steroids and 2 Ventolins on each pescription - so pay £10 or whatever it is for 2 Inhalers. Have a chat with your Dr or Asthma Nurse?

I know it's been mentioned @Frequency but the prepayment certificate is the obvious answer, so I'm not sure why you are poo-pooing it.

Even if you only have one prescription a month, it is worth it. So why would you not take this option? The chances are fairly high that you will get other prescriptions during the year. And even if you don't the price of the PPC is still less than 12 prescriptions.

By the way, you may need an asthma review if you are using one inhaler a month! (It depends if it's a reliever or a preventer.) If you are having 1 reliever every month (usually the blue inhaler/ventolin,) then you need your asthma meds reviewing.

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Someone told me you also can't pay for them even if you'd prefer to do that.

People have received very threatening and terrifying letters threatening them with court because of genuine mistakes that have been made that way with dental treatment, due to confusion over for example disabled people and what they are entitled to.

I think it's about illnesses where you are more likely to have comorbidity - with diabetes, for example, you're much more likely to get other illnesses.

Maybe I need a new GP. Mine won't do that. I've asked before to have 2 prescribed so I can keep one in my bag and one in my bedside drawer, and they've refused after giving me an asthma review and determining that my asthma is well controlled.

I can order one inhaler a month. They have 120 doses each, and I take 2 a day and then as needed, which is rarely ever, so they do tend to last me longer than a month. I could stockpile them and sometimes do if I'm going abroad, in case I lose one while I'm there.

My question was more about what happens to other people who cannot afford their medication, and why some conditions are classed as chronic, and others are not, even though they both carry the same potential for death.

It seems wrong, and potentially very costly to the NHS in the longrun if people are missing their medication due to costs.

I think you need to review your medication, having to use reliever inhaler that often means that your preventer isn’t working. You can get a combined inhaler. Or try the disks which dispenses a dust capsule to breathe in rather than a spray, it’s easier to inhale it. It’s also worth doing prepaid, on the off chance that you need anything else in the year (antibiotics etc) it will pay for itself, and you can do a monthly direct debit.

This. ^

@Lisavanderpumpsdog that is the worst possible advice!

Saying

lisananderpumpsdog 11.39..If I needed a prescription and didn't have the money to pay for it, I'd just lie and tick the box that says I do pre-pay or receive benefits. I'm aware that's fraud and may land me in trouble, but I'd take my chances if I was in that situation.

I mean, WTF?

Don't tell people to steal. Pretending you are entitled to free prescriptions, and obtaining them by lying, is fraud and theft. Ridiculous 'advice.'

DO NOT adhere to this @Frequency You will end up in a worse financial mess, as you will receive fines, and will STILL have to pay for the meds!!!

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I get paracetamol on prescription. It's actually not about avoiding the cost for me, it's the quantity. I often take max dose (as advised by Dr) of 8 a day and just can't shop enough to maintain a supply, especially if I am going on holiday or DH or DC want some too.

You might need to try that maths again.

A lot of GP surgeries refuse to prescribe more than a month's worth on one prescription. I am on several long term medications where the dose hasn't changed for years and isn't likely to. I used to get two months worth in every repeat prescription, but a couple of years ago they decided to change all repeat prescriptions to monthly, as a money saving thing. It really doesn't make any sense to me - the NHS gets the same amount of money from me, via my pre-payment certificate but has to issue and dispense twice as many prescriptions.

The prescription exemption has hardly changed since the beginning of the NHS or thereabouts.
Asthma then was not really treatable with meds, not was high blood pressure. Nobody knew about cholesterol.

Cancer was added around 2009. But other than that there's been no additions

I'm genuinely really glad that you have the ability to do that. My GP has a formal online policy that they won't do this (give a longer script to reduce prescription charges) and says this is because of NHS guidance, so I thought it was more universal than it clearly is.

Last year I had to pay for a private GP appointment £150 as I was sick of calling at 8am and not getting an appointment. Then £25 for the perscription as a private patient.

I guess if I couldn't afford it I would just have not gone or kept trying to call at 8am but honestly that was stressing me out.

I'm in Scotland.

I've now added into this years budget fees for private GP. Hopefully i won't need it but in case I do.

On the bright side I got half hour appointment, the right treatment and time to discuss several things. Oh and taken 5 minutes early.
So it was way more relaxing than the rushed, late NHS appointments (although the GP I saw worked part time in the NHS and part time privately)

Lucky I am very frugal in other areas so could afford this.

I fear paying for GP and perscriptions is going to become more and more normal for everyone as the NHS buckles under the pressure of too many people living too long.

It's more about preventing stock piling and unused drugs going to waste.
It annoys me because my HRT is also now monthly. But, to be fair, I do somehow seem to have about three months of progesterone so they're right, and I won't order that until I get down to one month.

My mum used to get paracetamol on prescription, not due to low income, just due to quantities needed. But, her repeat prescription thing was weird - she didn't even have to do it, the pharmacy did it for her and the stuff would just turn up. So she did have piles of stuff. I never could get my head around that.

Love the people suggesting a pre-paid certificate because it works out cheaper. If someone doesn’t have £9.50 how do you think they have £114 🤣

£9.50 X 12 (months) = £114.

Prepayment is £114.50. Cheaper to pay the individual fee.

Where is my maths wrong?

It is universal, 28-day prescribing is the norm but I guess GP's can override if they want to maybe.

Regardless, my mind is blown that someone can't find £9.50 for an essential health item. I'd really have to look my outgoings on that basis.