To think blanket free prescriptions for over 60s NEED to end?

[Idratherbepaddleboarding]

I know this will be controversial but I popped to the doctors in my lunch break to collect my prescription and joined a longish queue. Everyone in front of me was over 60 and collecting huge bags of medications and I was the only one paying for any of it.

I don’t dispute that I should have to pay but often I can’t afford it which has led to me having to miss days of my medication, leaving me feeling very emotional and at times suicidal (medication is for depression). Perhaps if everyone who has over a certain income had to pay, they’d be able to lower the prescription charge for everyone or be able to afford the pay rises they say they can’t afford for nurses and junior doctors.

The killer was that every single one of the people in front of me got back into massive, brand new SUVs, one couple into a Range Rover and another into a Jaguar. If they can afford to own (and run!) cars like that, paying for a prescription would be a drop in the ocean for them. AIBU to think that free prescriptions should be limited to those in pension credit just like Universal Credit?

When DH’s grandad died, his mum and auntie shared out his collection of prescription paracetamol and ibuprofen (I know they should be returned to the pharmacy but they’d only have been destroyed and both are ex nurses so I guess they know what they’re doing). I’m not joking, there were boxes and boxes of the stuff, we didn’t buy painkillers for years and these will have cost the NHS a lot more than they would from the supermarket and weren’t even taken by the person that they were intended for! Surely paracetamol and ibuprofen should not be available on the NHS at all?

I really don’t want to bash the over 60s and it wouldn’t be a vote winner for politicians but surely we can’t afford to keep free prescriptions for those that can afford them?

Even if it would cost the taxpayer more to means test it?

The new state pension is currently £10,600 a year for a single person, the majority of current pensioners with no private or occupational pension receive less than that. The new state pension only applies to people under 70. The majority of pensioners are on the old state pension which is considerably less. This is never made clear enough in press articles about old people.

Why should old people get free bus passes, help with heating, prescriptions? Because their costs are much higher. They need buses for distances that the rest of us wouldn't dream of doing anything but walking, they are less mobile so metabolism slows and it's harder to keep warm, they typically need more medications.

Why should rich old people get free bus passes, help with heating, prescriptions? They probably shouldn't. But to extend means testing without it bringing in more money than you spend on the administration is cutting off your nose to spite your face.

There is a bigger issue at play here.

I think that Wales, Scotland and NI have the right idea giving free Prescriptions to everyone.

people don’t have to worry about paying for their blood pressure medication, statins, anti psychotic etc so they are less likely to need lengthy and costly hospital admissions. I bet that saves the NHS money in the long run.

The money still has to come from somewhere though. Why provide free to people that can easily afford it and then say there isn't enough money in the NHS/care or where ever to pay for things that are really needed.

Anyone retired gets a smaller state pension. It has been increased.

And what about age gap pensioner couples where one is in receipt of state pension only - and the wife over 60 but can't draw pension till 66? They would not be eligible for pension credit because both parties have to be pensioners - the over 60 year old has no income at all in her right. Why should she have to pay, and out of what? Husband's state pension....?

I am not making sweeping generalisations at all! I clearly said blanket free prescriptions should end not all free prescriptions. At no point have I said all pensioners are rich. PPs say look at people individually, but giving free prescriptions to all over 60s is not looking at people individually. I don’t doubt for a second that many pensioners are on low incomes and should absolutely get their free prescriptions but that doesn’t change the fact that there are also many pensioners who have huge amounts of money in the bank who wouldn’t even notice a tenner if they can afford to run a Range Rover (which they will not have got on Motability without paying a huge supplement on so some people are just being facetious for the sake of it).

But the point is it will cost the NHS more money.

We don't have the financial luxury of cutting the wealthy or the older well off "some slack"

Just charge everyone a small amount and the less well off get the exemptions.

You don't know what a man getting into a 'roller has paid in or not.

My brother made his fortune overseas, came back here when he became ill, to use the NHS, aged 67, i don't know what he drives but it looks very nice, some electrical car.

No. Keep free prescriptions for over 60s. I am nearly there myself and sick of paying £9:65 every time.

I get no decent pay rise, rising costs everywhere else but no help. About time I got some help from somewhere.

Money raised for national or local government is TAX.

Of all the things that could and should be taxed, I am gobsmacked when people believe that the sick should be taxed, and the elderly sick should be taxed even more!

The annual cost of drugs prescribed in England is £9.6bn. Over 90% are already free. Prescription charges only raise £600m - so this would be the cost to make all prescriptions free. There would be notable savings in admin costs if all prescriptions were free - as was found in Wales, NI and Scotland when they scrapped charges a decade or more ago.

For comparison the money raised by selected taxes:

1. £0.6bn Prescription taxes
2. £11bn Tobacco taxes
3. £13bn Alcohol taxes
4. £26bn Fuel Duties
5. £6bn VAT on Fuel Duties (not on the fuel itself)

If the government needs to raise money to pay for it, then a small increase in any of these "sin" taxes would pay for universal free prescriptions. For example a 1p increase in fuel duty (with the 0.2p VAT on this) would raise about £600m - enough for universal free prescriptions. Fuel duty has not increased since 2010 and is currently reduced by 5p - a reduction maintained in the recent budget. Over the same period prescription charges have gone up from £7.20 to £9.65, an increase of 34%.

Labour had a policy at the 2019 election to scrap prescription charges in England, but as with just about everything else, their policy under Starmer is unkown. What is certain is that politicians from all parties will continue to spout the "FREE AT THE POINT OF USE" blatant lie.

@Allthings you are right about low income pensioners being little better off than those on pension credit. And whilst post 2016 retirees can get around £10,600 PA, the basic state pension for older retirees is just over £8K. Quite a difference, often for fewer qualifying years. DH needed 40 to get the full old basic.

@taxguru many older pensioners were SAHMs before 1978! No credits for us. My state pension is less than £5k.

You've completely ignored all the posts questioning whether this is actually going to save any money. Presumably you understand that means testing isn't free. Why have you assumed it would cost less than the current system?

My mum worked all her life, retired at 60 had a couple of years of free prescriptions for medication for her terminal heart condition and died at 63, she used to walk to the pharmacy to collect her tablets until she was too ill, and then her neighbour would drive to collect them for her. I lived 120 miles away so of course could not do this for her. I'm mentioning this because not all "old" people live long enough to draw much of a pension and avail themselves of all the "freebies"

If what you say is true, your grandfather is probably paying more tax than anyone you know, too.

I dont know if this includes you, but it's amazing how many people think that pensioners do not have to pay income tax

When SAHM were more common, mothers did not get NI credits unless they paid them.

Ok so to answer that, if this is the case then all prescriptions should be free since it’s isn’t also cost more to means test younger people.

Keep free prescriptions but introduce a National Insurance charge over a certain threshold. This would eradicate the need for inefficient means testing, and ensure those benefitting most from health services are contributing, where they can afford it.

Just because your grandpa can afford everything not everyone can.

How do you want to fund the NHS? Introducing private health care just disenfranchises the poor who have the most illnesses and puts the onus on whatever public health care system there is.

Where do you want the income levels start to determine that - putting financial pressure on those who are already paying the most. As they already bloody-well are.

If I had to pay then I would have to miss some meds but with two chronic diseases I’d probably end up in hospital. That would be more costly in many ways. As it is I do my best to manage my conditions and stay as fit as possible.
The cost of means testing all over 60’s would negate any savings. Just because I don’t claim any benefits doesn’t mean I can afford prescription costs.
Before I was 60 I got free prescriptions anyway and probably some of the oldies you saw did too.

I bloody hope the Govt does not do away with free prescriptions for the over 60s! It would cost me nearly £100 per month.

Presumably you would buy a season ticket so that it would cost you not much more than £100 a year.

YANBU.

I'm also working my way through boxes and boxes of paracetamol which my very wealthy grandfather (who died 7 years ago) was prescribed.

What a depressing read.
The Government have done an amazing job of getting us all to be pointing the finger at each other.

How about the Tories get their act together... maybe they need more time....sarcasm.

let's do away with the NHS and go back to means tested.... they come to your house and say "sale that tv..table..chair...sideboard.. until you've literally nothing left in your home.
This used to happen way back, my mother had awful memories, as a child, witnessing this with her Mother.
Then you might be entitled to a bit of Government assistance.

And why do Londoners get free travel for kids,and freedom passes from 60 ....seems very unfair to me.

I live in Scotland and am definitely in favour of the free prescriptions for all thing.

If you think about the percentage of prescriptions that are one off (so not worth getting a prepayment cert for) or not for otherwise exempt people, I doubt that the revenue outweighs the cost of administrating, especially if you take into account the costs for the pharmacy in taking payment, accounting back to the government etc. Queues also seem to move quicker than I remember!

Paying for prescriptions just hurts those who are just about managing and makes it more likely for people to need more expensive intervention. It's more of a political want "don't give people free stuff they don't deserve" than something that makes economic sense!

I don't object to universal free prescriptions, but that doesn't necessarily follow. It's quite conceivable that some age groups would contain higher numbers of people above whatever income threshold you choose, and therefore be more lucrative to charge than others.

I think a nominal charge ie £1 would be better - not because I want to deny people the prescription but because there is so much waste when it is free.