AIBU to think you shouldn't have to pay for that?

[vapourtrail]

I am in my early forties and after going through all the symptoms I recently went to the doctor for a blood test and was told that I was experiencing early menopause.
I was upset enough at this news as it was, then the Dr said that I would have to go on HRT as I would need the extra oestrogen for healthy bones. She said it wasn't really an option for someone in my position, going through it so early. I have no problems with this, and would actually welcome some hormones in my life. So off I went with my prescription.
At the chemist the pharmacist asked me if I was taking it for contraceptive or HRT and I said HRT. She said, ok if it was for contraceptive it would be free but for HRT I would have to pay for it. Am I BU for thinking that it should be free? I am going to have to be on this for maybe the next 20 years. If I was using it for sex, which, let's face it, is a choice, it would be free. But if I take it to stop my bones crumbling away then it isn't! And to top it all the pharmacist told me that it actually counted as a double prescription so charged my £17 for it!!
If this was a male thing I am sure this wouldn't be the case which makes me all as it feels like another woman tax. Aibu?

Move to Wales. All our prescriptions are free.
And you get to live in Wales

Get a pre-payment certificate it caps how much you pay a year.

Some long term conditions are exempt, others aren't it can be annoying but it's a lot less than I would have to pay if I had to pay for the actual meds , as some of my friends abroad do.

I've been on meds for rheumatoid arthritis for 20years - I take several meds a month and I pay for all but one of them (its injections and they get delivered directly to me, don't know why this exempts them but it does)

I need those meds to control my disease and stop long term damage & disability, allow me to function everyday. I will almost certainly need them for the rest of my life.

Only read the first page but for those wondering why Asthma isn't exempt as a lifelong condition - it isn't always. I had it as a child and now don't suffer with it though there is a risk it could come back now I'm in my late 20s early 30s. My DM just has her Salbutamol once in the morning and once at night, compared to double that 10 years ago and Ventolin several times a day.

I'm not saying this is the case with every Asthmatic by a long shot. But I was told by an out of hours Dr that asthmatic episodes do come and go which is probably why you have to pay for medication

Someone said their student son pays earlier in the thread. He doesn't have to!

Students are eligible for a HC2 certificate, which gives them free prescriptions, free NHS dentistry, an NHS glasses voucher and free eye tests. I used one for my undergrad and PhD and I am very grateful as I was on a very low income with no parental back up at all.

My student children have to pay for prescriptions.

Not all students are eligible for a HC2 certificate, many will only qualify for a HC3 certificate (partial help) and this doesn't cover prescriptions usually

Pop over to the menopause board @vapourtrails, there’s a huge amount of misinformation about hrt on this thread.

You can stay on it after 50, whoever said you can’t, you are wrong.

OP talk to your GP about your prescription and see if there’s another way she could prescribe it for you.

Remember your natural cycle could break through so pregnancy isn’t out of the question if you’re young and on hrt. Make sure you use additional contraception.

@vapourtrail .... sorry added an extra s in there for good measure

This is probably controversial and I'm more than receptive to having flaws pointed out, but I'd advocate a complete change to the system. I would suggest:

Free prescriptions for those in receipt of means-tested or disability benefits only.

For everyone else, an income-based system where you can apply for exemption if your household income is below a certain threshold.

That would mean that children, pregnant women and pensioners living in high income households would have chargeable prescriptions (which is why my idea is controversial) but it's ridiculous that children of millionaires qualify for free prescriptions but a working man or woman struggling on a low wage has to pay.

I've never understood the logic behind charging people in England for prescriptions when the rest of the UK receive their medication at no charge.
I personally know of a number of people who cannot afford their prescriptions and therefore run the risk of spreading certain diseases around as well as becoming very ill themselves.
Just a few weeks ago, I know someone who contracted the campylobacter virus for the umpteenth time, lives alone, can't afford to take 2 weeks off of work while they wait for test results to confirm it is the campylobacter virus again and in the meantime, understandably from a health risk pov, must not return to work until the test results come back to confirm, plus another week of treating via antibiotics.
That's 3 weeks of unpaid time off work.
On top of which, they have to pay for the prescription to treat, and a certificate to present to their employer to say they are free of the virus to enable them to return to work.
The first time they contracted the virus, they went through the whole 3 weeks and paid up, they were left with no money for food or rent due to taking 3 weeks off of work.
Since then, they claim not to go back to the doctors, and to take Imodium and go to work.
Campylobacter is easily caught and can be potentially very serious if caught by an elderly person, a baby, or anyone with a low immune system.
I would feel better if I knew everyone was getting the medical attention they needed, especially where they may infect other people and leave them seriously ill.
The cost of administration that goes into charging some people and not others and issuing prepayment certificates is huge!!
Just my thoughts.

Just a few weeks ago, I know someone who contracted the campylobacter virus for the umpteenth time, lives alone, can't afford to take 2 weeks off of work while they wait for test results to confirm it is the campylobacter virus again and in the meantime, understandably from a health risk pov, must not return to work until the test results come back to confirm, plus another week of treating via antibiotics.

Antibiotics won't treat viral infections ....

My Dh has chronic asthma that is extremely sensitive. He could have up to 4 different inhalers on the go at any time.

He would have to pay for these if he didn't have a tax credit exemption card

You should only be charged 2 prescription charges if there are 2 separate tablets in the box (which is very common in HRT preparations) and not if it is one tablet containing 2 ingredients

Not true at my GP's in house pharmacy. I have one tablet and get charged the double (at least I did before I got the pre-paid card)

Once you settle on HRT you will get six months supply so it will only cost you £34 yearly

Again not true. My GP will only ever give one month's supply at a time and I've been on it for 8 years now, so I'm definitely 'settled'

Soubriquet If he's in England he could pay £10.40 per month and get as many inhalers prescribed as he likes.

DGRossetti

Well spotted 😂👏🏻

Yes Lemon

We've had one before. But he's exempt now with tax credits

My OH has a chronic lifelong condition for which he takes 2 types of medication. One he gets for free and is delivered to our house (refrigerated item). The other is a prescription he has to pay for.

No idea why one is free and the other isn't !!

thenightsky do your tablets contain the same ingredients but different strengths? If all the tablets in the box are same (containing same ingredients in same strengths) then you should not be charged twice.

The pre pay prescription has been a godsend for me. Best £10.40 a month I spend.

What I object to is that someone who is diabetic for example, gets all their medication free not just the diabetic associated ones.

Yes true..but you dont have to have all meds on prescription...My GP encouraged me to have my anti-histimines on prescription as they were free, but I refused

I realise you dont have any choice if they are prescription only

I was once given a prescription for 200mg ibuprofen tablets. Yes, of course I want to pay £8 for tablets I can get for 20p from Tesco .

Campylobacter is a bacterial infection, not viral so the correct antibiotics are effective.

YABU. Contraceptives prevent unwanted pregnancies and the results (abortions, unwanted children/children that parents cannot adequately support) which often cause a burden to the tax payer. As such free contraception is a Costa saving measure. But HRT is a personal health treatment. Why should someone else have to pay for your healthcare if you can pay yourself? I understand that it is esstial for you but so is food-are you expecting the tax payer to pick up your grocery bills? What makes you think that you are entitled to other people’s money like that?

Don't forget that the prescription charge isn't the full cost of the medication. Most medication costs far more than that, but you're charged unless you qualify for free prescriptions. Or unless you live in Wales or Scotland, of course.

@ScreamibgValebta here here. The grabby bastards who abuse the NHS by taking what they very well could afford to pay for are the ones who are responsible for the teeeible state that it is in.