to think we shouldn't have to pay for Asthma Inhaler Prescriptions?

[MaddyHatter]

Just that really.

If people with Epilepsy and Diabetes and even people with Thyroid issues and those taking the Pill don't have to pay, why do Asthma sufferers have to fork out £16 or more every couple of months for medication that can and does save our lives?

I think it contributes to the rather lackadaisical attitude towards Asthma, and just how serious a condition it is.

YANBU
I have 2 inhalers, really bugs me that I have to effectively pay to breathe

I'm sure I read somewhere that 90% of prescriptions are issued for free.

If that's the case, surely the cost of administering the exemptions scheme actually outweighs the amount of money raised from the remaining 10%? The cost of issuing cards, checking applications, advertising the various schemes...

It's like the winter fuel benefit, it's not means tested because it would cost more than it would save. Surely the prescriptions in England have reached that point too?

There is another advantage to free prescriptions for all that will help save money in the long term- I know people who share medicines because they get them for free and their family members don't. If prescriptions were free for all there would be no advantage t this, and people would get their own prescriptions, meaning their doctors can spot when patients are taking too much/not enough of medications (for example, a patient has been diagnosed with asthma but has been using someone else's inhaler, so their doctor doesn't realise how poorly controlled it is and thinks the patient no longer needs an inhaler due to not getting repeat prescriptions)

...there is not enough money sadly and asthma is no more special than any other disease...

But people who can't afford to pay for an inhaler may end up costing the NHS more in the long run thanks to ambulance calls and emergency room visits and hospital admission and administration of steroids in hospital.

I don't think this is a 'special' disease - it is one where an attack can be sudden and can leave someone fighting for life though, and if a remedy is available that can pretty easily help the patient without using other expensive healthcare resources in an acute situation, then the bean counters are being penny wise and very pound foolish not to cover the cost of the rescue inhalers.

I think the best solution is to have a small prescription charge on all items. From 2013 NHS data only 10% of prescription are paid for, so it could be 84p an item and raise the same money for the NHS. There could be a cap so no one pays more than say £5 a month. I feel this would also reduce wast. If charging 5p makes people think if they need a bag, then 84p would hopefully make them think if they need all the items on their prescription evey month.

Dh is a chronic asthmatic, he gets
3 blue inhaler's
1 purple disk inhaler ( strongest steroid)
A night time tablet (montalkast?)
A 180mg antihistamine
A steroid nose spray
Without these medications he would struggle and end up having an asthma attack, his asthma is hard to control and he will use 2 1/2 of the blue inhalers each month. We do ppc at £10 per month.

I think it's a cost of treatment thing. Dh is asthmatic. Without his inhaler he can end up in hospital on a nebuliser for a few hours. I have no idea what that costs but dd is epileptic and without her meds she ends up in HDU for days. I would imagine that is eye wateringly expensive.

There's a depressing amount of this sort of thing about. People consistently underestimate the deadliness of asthma. Anyone remember Stuart "the brand" Baggs from The Apprentice? He died after an asthma attack. People can and do end up hospitalised on HDU after asthma attacks.

Op I totally understand where you're coming from. I don't think there's a lot of logic in which diseases entitle you to free prescriptions and which don't. Having worked in the NHS, I can also see why all prescriptions can't be free-there isn't the money.

I hate paying for my glasses. It costs me a fortune to be able to see. Obviously that won't potentially kill me but there's no way I can function without them.

The whole system needs an overhaul. The conditions that allow free prescriptions have not been changed for years. I have crohn's disease and have to pay. I buy the pre - payment certificate.

Ds has had over 60 trips to a and e because of his asthma. Over 20 admissions ranging from one night to 15 nights. He is 6.

Like most chronic conditions asthma is such a wide ranging illness you can't just judge the severity/cost to NHS from the illness alone!

I have free prescriptions because I have an underactive thyroid. I think this is a bit ridiculous to be honest. Fine, give me the thyroxine free but everything else seems a bit over the top.

I had to get a prescription for ear drops the other day and didn't even tell them I was exempt and paid because the system is already over stretched.

When we first moved overseas to a country where we are only allowed to access private healthcare I was absolutely gobsmacked at the costs (and I'd worked for the NHS as a wound care nurse so had some idea).

I contracted typhoid, our medical insurance covered the treatment but we were given the bill. Everything was itemised from the medications, bed rate, house keeping, to the cotton wool swabs, cannulas, disposable pants...

My son was in NICU and not covered by our insurance. Luckily we have had savings and assets but we had to continually go to the finance office to pay for the next round of tests and treatments. I can only wonder with horror what we'd have chosen to do if we had no money!!

A friend of ours was admitted for acute appendicitis and had to pay the excess on his insurance before they'd operate.

I know this is a bit off topic, but I have never appreciated the NHS more ... It's shit that it's not all free but even then the prescriptions are heavily subsidised. It's not a perfect system but it is the BEST system.

DD has MS and asthma, and would have to pay for her many drugs if she wasn't on tax credits, which she gets because she can only work part time. I was surprised that a condition like MS doesn't qualify for free prescriptions.
The pre pay cards are good value if you have multiple prescriptions.

Has anyone actually looked at the cost of inhalers in the BNF?!? Some of them cost a fortune. All of my asthma treatment combined (terbutaline sulphate, ciclisonide, relvar ellipta, zafirleukast) cost the NHS £109.74 a month! I'm v happy to pay around £10 a month direct debit for this, it's a drop in the ocean for keeping me alive...

I agree that the problem isn't helped by all prescriptions being free for people with specific conditions. That should be knocked on the head for a start.

The NHS simply can't afford to give more free prescriptions though. Those saying "move to Scotland" or wherever are missing the point a little as the money to cover those prescriptions has been taken from elsewhere. I remember watching a documentary or news item where they showed people from X or Y moving to England to live with friends/family in order to get free treatment for something because that wasn't covered where they were.

I don't know how the NHS decides. I'm guessing diabetes type 1 and under active thyroidism are cases that can't be cured/won't go away on their own/potentially life threatening/can't be controlled by patient but as a PP said a lot more people seem to have inhalers these days and perhaps docs are dubious how many are genuine and wary of starting a trend etc

Nobody is denying that the medicines can be expensive. I think it is more the inconsistency that people don't like. Either charge for all medication for chronic conditions or charge for none. Don't try to rank them!

shrunken asthma is potentially life threatening.

Ds asthma very much falls into all those categories that shrunken used!

According to the BNF a bog standard ventolin inhaler costs just under £2.

So people can pay £2.50pw for all medication?

I actually think that is very good.

I posted too soon-sirzy I hope your son's asthma is managed well by your doctor. For some people it can be really difficult to control.

shrunken there's so much wrong with your post. Do you honestly think free asthma inhalers would "start a trend"?! Not many people are queuing up for free insulin.

How would a person in the midst of an asthma attack control it without their inhaler? Yes, some children grow out of their asthma but not all do. I'm not aware of a cure for asthma. Have you found one? I'm sure the NHS would love you to pass it on.

One of the scariest things medical professionals have to deal with is someone having an asthma attack that isn't responding to the usual treatment. You spend any time on a respiratory ward and I guarantee you won't be posting that asthma isn't potentially life threatening.

Ds seretide cost £60 per inhaler. Atrovent is £6. Add on the two ventolin a month and that's neatly £70 for just the inhalers - he takes another 5 non inhaler mess for his asthma too.

The cost of them for the NHS certainly soon adds up. mainly because of greedy pharmaceutical companies

I agree with the previous poster who said they'd give up their free prescriptions happily if they didn't have to rely on their medication each day. I have a rare form of under active thyroid from birth as did my my grandmother, my DM and now my DD and I take exception to "even thyroid conditions"

HOWEVER that said, this allegedly makes me entitled to everything else free such as antibiotics etc. I have said many times that I'd be happy to pay for these. I feel free prescriptions should end at the condition, and anything else should be paid for, maybe then asthmatics might be able to get their inhalers !!!

Another voice suppoting the fact that asthma can and does kill, even when it appears mild (figures suggest that around half of all patients inaccurately assess their asthma severity and, more worryingly, that doctors are not always much better).

The fact that people have to pay out every time for potentially lifesaving medication is troubling. Unfortunately, many doctors don't really know how to best manage/assess asthma and so many patients will be paying out for sub-optimal treatment that they don't receive the maximum benefit from.

The whole system needs rebuilding from the ground up with:
Better assessment
Better patient training
Better HCP training
More regular follow-up
More rapid treatment change if exacerbations occur
More personalised treatment (i.e not just assigned cheapest ICS available)

If all the above were met then I'd bet NHS costs would fall as a result of the reduced need for emergency asthma care; maybe they'd even fall low enough to make the medicines free. We can dream....

I feel the other way and think no prescriptions should be free to those that can afford to pay - we should have a means tested system where possible and everyone on regular meds should be encouraged to buy a prepayment card.

I get free prescriptions due to a thyroid 'issue' (an issue that has caused depression, weight gain and the loss of two pregnancies, let alone any other issues that may occur over my lifetime, so please don't trivialise it! however I still buy things over the counter if I can, as I don't think I should take the piss. This includes aspirin, gaviscon and lactulose during my current pregnancy, which I know plenty of pregnant women receive for free using their maternity exemption certificate. I am well aware that it is not only the prescription cost to the NHS, but also the GPs time preparing the prescription.

I agree with you that in an ideal world more conditions, including asthma, should be covered, but please don't be derisive about conditions that are covered.