To wonder how people afford prescription charges?

[fuckedandbombed]

I live alone and work full time but money is tight for now.

I have been on antidepressants for a couple of years so was costing me the £10 a month charge.

Recently my gp has bit me on blood pressure tablets and vitamin b12 as well

I've left it to get the prescription because I simply can't afford £30 a month .

I need the meds , but just can't afford them . Is there any alternative to paying £30 a month ?

@ChickenSchnitzel

Grateful I live in Scotland, free prescriptions, free eye tests, free dental check ups.

How does the UK government except people to afford this?

90% of prescriptions are free in the Uk, anyway

If you have time it is worth filling in the consultation form about raising the age for free prescriptions. The proposal is to link free prescriptions on age grounds to the State Pension age.
Not all chronic conditions attract free prescriptions. DD has MS and her disease modifying drug is free (prescribed by hospital) but all the other medication to deal with nerve pain, muscle spasms etc have to be paid for.

As everyone else says, pre-pay. Direct Debit it's £10 per month for 10 months and as I get 4 prescriptions a month it more than pays for itself.

90% of prescriptions are free ?

I'm shocked Everyone I know pays for theirs via prepay - total bargain for me as I get 5 prescriptions a month (HRT/3 types of painkillers, one of which costs the NHS £30 a month, plus an injectable 3 monthly)

I did pre payment as I have a load of health conditions which need injections/meds etc. Then I got hashimotos so mine are free. Wouldn't recommend that as a strategy though!

@LaurieFairyCake

90% of prescriptions are free ?

I'm shocked Everyone I know pays for theirs via prepay - total bargain for me as I get 5 prescriptions a month (HRT/3 types of painkillers, one of which costs the NHS £30 a month, plus an injectable 3 monthly)

Yes 90% and I meant England not Uk when you think about it there are so many exemptions. 64% go to over 60s Then there are free to children free to low income and free to those with thyroid , epilepsy, diabetes , cancer etc

@fuckedandbombed

Thanks

I asked to get more than one months ad but they won't do it at my gps . It's got to be monthly .

Buy an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate Save money on NHS prescriptions by prepaying for them.

You can pay a set price for prescriptions for 3 or 12 months, no matter how many you need.

A prescription costs £9.35 per item, but prepaying for an unlimited number of prescriptions is:

£30.25 for 3 months
£108.10 for 12 months (or 10 Direct Debit instalments of £10.81)
How it works
Information
We do not send out plastic cards any more because they take time to reach you. They are also costly to the NHS and the environment.
We can send your certificate details by email, or you can print them at the end of the service.

Show your certificate details when you collect your prescription. You can collect prescriptions straight away, if your start date is today or earlier.

services.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/buy-prescription-prepayment-certificate/start

@ChickenSchnitzel

Grateful I live in Scotland, free prescriptions, free eye tests, free dental check ups.

How does the UK government except people to afford this?

The majority of people in England don't actually pay for their prescription medication - those on low incomes, pregnant, kids etc get free prescriptions. Over 90% of prescriptions are given free of charge

(pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/news/prescription-charge-overhaul-would-raise-1bn-a-year-for-nhs-says-think-tank.)

Those people who struggle to pay because they have multiple scripts,
can utilise the payment certificate at just over £10pm. Just under half (4.2%) of paid prescriptions are paid this way.

If you genuinely can't afford £10 a month to look after your health, then you'd be (probably) eligible for free prescriptions anyway as you'd be in receipt of things like UC etc. And if not, you could possibly make a lifestyle change to free up the £10 - perhaps cut down on luxuries and look at economising elsewhere.

90% of prescriptions probably are free, when you think about it.
18-60 year olds who pay for prescriptions are most likely healthy and not on loads of meds. If they have conditions like diabetes etc, then their meds are free anyway.
The vast majority of prescriptions are going to be for older people with more health needs, I would assume.

@bruffin

Op hasnt come back and ignored the ppc posts , so suspect ddidnt get what they wanted from this thread

At least ive learnt DH will get free prescriptions this year

Excuse me ! I work ! I leave the house at 7 and get in late so forgive me for not immediately replying- and actually I DID come back to say thanks for the advice and I'm getting the ore payment option . Why are people so rude !?

My Gp will never prescribe more than a months worth of anti-depressants at a time, I always ask for more, maybe it's because of the risk of people overdosing? They will give me two months worth of my other meds.

@fuckedandbombed

Thanks

I asked to get more than one months ad but they won't do it at my gps . It's got to be monthly .

You ignored all the 12 posters who mentioned the pre paid prescriptions service and just referred to the one poster who mentioned getting 2 months supply

No I'd didn't ignore anyone. I've been at work and not logged on to answer anyone .
I didn't realise it was compulsory to answer all posts immediately.

So thanks to all who advised pre payment.

That's what I'll be doing .

For context - I've been dealing with an attempt murder most of the day .

I didn't get to eat lunch . Person a three pregnant person b out of a moving car before going back to run person b over .

I'm terribly sorry I didn't reply thanking everyone sooner . 😳

actually I DID come back to say thanks for the advice and I'm getting the ore payment option

Did you? I can't see that?

I wouldn't be able to afford it if I didn't get the prepayment certificate. I get migraines meds, asthma meds, hayfever and eczema meds and it would cost me an absolute fortune.

@FlyingBattie

Marguerite2000 strangely enough some people really can't manage a tenner a month, especially at the moment.

But the OP can, seeing as she's already paying £10 a month for one prescription.

Just don't pay for them. Tick that you are exempt. They don't check. I'm 45 and have never paid for a prescription 💁🏽‍♀️

@Mummasdiary2021

Just don't pay for them. Tick that you are exempt. They don't check. I'm 45 and have never paid for a prescription 💁🏽‍♀️

I couldn't do that . In all consciousness I just couldn't . I'll do the prepay thing. Thanks for all the advice all .

@Mummasdiary2021

Just don't pay for them. Tick that you are exempt. They don't check. I'm 45 and have never paid for a prescription 💁🏽‍♀️

I ticked the wrong box once, and got a fine in the post. A quick phone call sorted it out, but they do check these things.

I had a call from my GP asking why I hadn't picked up my meds, my certificate had ran out and I get 9 prescriptions each week. How I could ever afford that much per week is beyond my comprehension, I had to wait 3 weeks for the new certificate and then taper back on to meds.
All I can think though is thank god that I'm not in somewhere like America, the three weeks could have been years there.

@LaurieFairyCake

90% of prescriptions are free ?

I'm shocked Everyone I know pays for theirs via prepay - total bargain for me as I get 5 prescriptions a month (HRT/3 types of painkillers, one of which costs the NHS £30 a month, plus an injectable 3 monthly)

I'm more shocked every time I hear of someone who doesn't know about the PPC, usually of part of an 'oh how awful prescriptions are so expensive' rant.

Theres's a poster about it in every pharmacy.

Most prescriptions are free because the people entitled to them (older people, pregnant women, very young children, people with certain chronic health conditions, people on certain benefits/low incomes, often as a consequence of having poor health) disproportionately require more prescriptions than the average working adult who makes up the minority who has to pay.

So if you are one of the few who has to pay, no-one has to pay more than £10 a month and in reality, the number of people who have to pay who genuinely struggle to find £10 a month, as opposed to just resent paying it, will be very very small.

A tip if you're unsure as to whether it's worth getting the PPC, for example if you normally rarely need prescriptions, pay for your prescription as normal and ask for a receipt (there's a proper NHS form receipt, details on the NHS website).

If it turns out you need further prescriptions within the next few weeks, you can sign up to a PPC, backdate the start date and reclaim the cost of the first prescription. There's also different ways of paying for it - all in one go, quarterly or by monthly direct debit.

@fatedtopretend

I had a call from my GP asking why I hadn't picked up my meds, my certificate had ran out and I get 9 prescriptions each week. How I could ever afford that much per week is beyond my comprehension, I had to wait 3 weeks for the new certificate and then taper back on to meds. All I can think though is thank god that I'm not in somewhere like America, the three weeks could have been years there.

You're not expected to afford it. There's a system in place that limits the cost to £10 a month if you're not entitled to free prescriptions.

If you need 9 prescriptions a week, it's in your interest to not have your card run out. Is there someone who could help you with this if your health conditions make it hard for you to keep on top of this?

@Jangle33

Can’t you just get B12 Over the counter cheaper? And if you are on benefits etc it’s free, so I’m afraid you must be deemed to earn too much.

I just paid £9.25 for 28 folic acid tablets (not pregnancy related). I can get 2x180 tablets from Boots for £10, neither my gp or pharmacist suggested it would be cheaper to buy otc instead.