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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU - Should people 60+ be means tested & pay for prescriptions

381 replies

monopoly5 · 28/01/2018 11:05

Considering the NHS is so stretched as are lots of other public services should free prescriptions for the over 60s be means tested?

I agree that the NHS is mismanaged but there is still no money. The tax paying population is shrinking & wealth is increasingly held by the older generations.

Yes there is the argument that people have paid their taxes so are entitled but I don’t believe a 20 year old of today will have any state pension/NHS available to them.

In an ideal world the 1% would be taxed more but can’t see that happening. Don’t we all need to chip in?

OP posts:
viques · 28/01/2018 11:09

Ok, I will pay for my prescriptions if the young drunks who clog up A and E on a Friday and Saturday night pay for their ambulances, paramedics ,nurses, doctors and vomit cleaners. sounds fair to me.

ShastaTrinity · 28/01/2018 11:09

If we all need to chip in, then we should ALL Pay. It would be a disgrace to charge people more when they already pay more tax.

Other countries have shown that when people pay directly for healthy care, they are much much less likely to abuse the system and waste everybody's time. The most demanding and rude time wasters have been shown to be the one entitled to free medical care. "Free" even if someone is paying for it, but not them.

Phosphorus · 28/01/2018 11:10

I think k the argument is that it would cist an awful to to administer.

There is a problem already with older people being reluctant to claim benefits they need and are entitled to.

Older people tend to need more prescription meds.

Throwing a barrier in the way of healthcare won't help.

madcatwoman61 · 28/01/2018 11:10

Means testing will stop many people claiming. So they will not get their prescriptions due to cost. So their conditions will become worse and they will end up needing hospitalisation. Not cheaper

ShastaTrinity · 28/01/2018 11:10

*health care, not healthy care Blush

PurpleRobe · 28/01/2018 11:12

No.... but parents should be means tested for kids prescriptions!!!???

Why punish the older folk

Original poster
monopoly5 · 28/01/2018 11:13

I’m on the fence about it, where do other posters think the money needed should come from?

OP posts:
youngnomore · 28/01/2018 11:13

Why is it always the old and the disabled that get picked on. Sad

Original poster
monopoly5 · 28/01/2018 11:14

No.... but parents should be means tested for kids prescriptions!!!???

I agree with this, I don’t understand why if you can afford it you would get free kids prescriptions.

OP posts:
YellowMakesMeSmile · 28/01/2018 11:16

I think everyone should pay for prescriptions and the free over the counter service for calpol etc should be scrapped.

I'd also like to see a token fee for doctors appointments to stop them being wasted and an excess on self inflicted treatment like Viques re the drunks in A & E. Scrap non essential items and make them available at cost price plus a little extra so the service gains and people can still have the choice to have them but not at the cost to others.

We have a good basis for a service that could be so much better if we stop wasting money and spent what we have more wisely.

viques · 28/01/2018 11:17

and actually, having worked and paid income tax all my life I am still "chipping in" , because I pay income tax on my pension, VAT, petrol tax, road fund, council tax*, airport tax and any other tax levied on goods and services.

  • don't get me started about why, as a single person I am paying proportionally more council tax than a couple, while using half of the services.
GnomeDePlume · 28/01/2018 11:18

I think there is an argument for making prescription charges a lot fairer than they are at the moment. People on multiple prescription items have to pay for each item. The number of items does tend to increase with age. My DM in her late 70s is on I think 9 items per month. If she started having to pay then she would have to find £80/month.

Certain conditions result in people having free prescriptions. I have a colleague with a permanent condition which means all her prescriptions are free. I have a permanent condition which isnt 'on the list' so have to pay for my prescriptions.

IMO both of us should pay but use the pre-pay certificate scheme which would mean both of us would be paying the same amount.

Perhaps that would be the way to make it fairer? Means testing so that more people would be paying some more without going the whole hog.

FreudianSlurp · 28/01/2018 11:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lazyarse123 · 28/01/2018 11:18

We would probably fall in the middle of earning too much to claim anything but not enough to pay for necessary prescriptions. Plus between us we have made 80 years worth of contributions. We haven't been a drain on the system and it's time we had something back.

Original poster
monopoly5 · 28/01/2018 11:20

Do people think the current NHS model will still exist when people in their 20s & 30s today get to old age?

OP posts:
ShastaTrinity · 28/01/2018 11:20

Yes, we should all pay at least a token amount. Let's face it, what's the point of having a "free" (for some) NHS when you can no longer access urgent medical care?

Hospitals at breaking point, weeks to get an appointment with a GP, ambulances a thing of the past. If you have a genuine medical emergency it's pretty grim, and many problems are seen far too late when they will cost more to fix, or won't be curable at all anymore.

Charging everybody would be fair, and would make people think twice about abusing the system.

scaryteacher · 28/01/2018 11:21

You could go down the Belgian route where you pay the cost if the drug as opposed to the prescription cost. Lots of people would have a bit of a shock then. We would need a co-pay insurance scheme though.

Cherrypi · 28/01/2018 11:22

Only 10% of prescriptions are paid for at the moment according to the Ed Miliband podcast.

FreudianSlurp · 28/01/2018 11:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheDailyMailIsADisgustingRag · 28/01/2018 11:23

I’m with @yellow.

notanurse2017 · 28/01/2018 11:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MadisonAvenue · 28/01/2018 11:23

I think that everyone should pay a token amount. Perhaps £2 per item.

Original poster
monopoly5 · 28/01/2018 11:25

It's interesting that you don't think the maternity exemption should be means tested in your OP, why was that?

No reason, I wouldn’t have a problem with that been means tested either. At the end of the day we have an aging population who are living longer with chronic illnesses so I think that’s the biggest issue.

OP posts:
crunchymint · 28/01/2018 11:25

I would support parents not getting calpol free before this.
Some people when they have to pay for prescriptions, will not pay for them. Compliance with medication can already been an issue with some older people. Older people are more likely to have serious health conditions. If they don't take their medication, they willend up in hospital. I am not convinced this would actually save money in the long run.

BonnieF · 28/01/2018 11:26

The NHS is skint, and sorting out prescription charging would be a good way to raise significant amounts of money from those who can afford to pay.