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?

I'm fed up of age related benefits all together. It should all be means tested. My in laws / parents get free bus travel, winter fuel, inflation matching increases to their state pension and they have way more disposable income than me.

Part of it is that we still have this ridiculous belief that people who have retired have paid their "stamp". No! Your taxes went towards paying for your parents. My taxes are paying for my parents pensions. There isn't some mythical pot that we pay into all our lives and then draw out when we're old. Once we can move on from that idea we can start looking at how we fairly distribute benefits and other concessions (such as free prescriptions) so that those with the least amount of money are not having to fork out to cover the costs of those with some of the most amount.

You also display a lack of logic OP. You can't afford to always pay for your medication, but you expect elderly people with large bags of medication to pay. The truth is some will not be able to and the subsequent medical treatment will cost the NHS more.

Administering prescription charges costs money.

Means testing costs money.

Working out if a prescription is directly related to a long term medical condition that is exempt to charges costs money.

Hence it is cheaper to give certain age groups and those with certain conditions free prescriptions.

But lots of them haven't... it's such a generalisation and fallacy that everyone is a huge over contributor all their lives.

Why are those repeats not checked,to see if people need them?

I live in Scotland where prescriptions are free and get 2 prescriptions on repeat directly from the chemist. However,they only prepare the next lot to collect when their system tells them I've nearly finished the previous lot. They don't give me loads in advance.

@IForgotMyUsernameAgain It is not a ridiculous belief. It is what the government used to say.

That's what I thought!!

I can’t afford it because everything has gone up except for my wages. I have to prioritise feeding my child over my own medication and if I can’t afford it, I have to wait until I can. I just don’t get how it’s ageist to say that anyone that can afford to pay should, although I have also agreed that it would be even better if prescriptions were free for everyone and I’m sure that’s something my (fabulous) MP would agree with so I will write to her. I’m not jealous, I just don’t see how it’s affordable.

Yes, weren’t there some murmurs of the government planning to charge over 60’s.

they affect everyone differently
Surely you know that people are often on ADs and capable of living normally?
I've been on them for 20 years, if I couldn't remember my name I would have been back to the GP to look at an alternative one

Fully agree. ALL benefits need to be means tested. After all, they've managed to stop child benefit for those earning over £50k, so why not take away free prescriptions and state pensions for those with incomes over £50k?

We need a different approach to tax/benefits, middle income workers are shouldering too much of the burden as tax rises for the past 20 years have always been on "wages", i.e. NIC which of course, pensioners don't pay, however high their income.

And yes, we need to challenge the narrative of "I've paid my stamp....." - they may have done but it wasn't enough! (But lots actually havn't paid much NIC at all yet remain eligible for state benefits such as pension, free prescriptions, etc!).

It's not sustainable, does anyone think in 10 yrs time there will be blanket free prescriptions for over 60s?

When my parents died I had to bring in carrier bags of medication. Charging would have made zero difference. And I am surprised that someone who works in a pharmacy does not understand this.

Someone on end of life care often gets given a LOT of medication. My dad in particular would be tried on one medication, for a few weeks, then that would be stopped and another one tried. That left a lot of unused medication. I asked if we could be given smaller amount of tablets when trying new medication but was told that was not possible.

Crikey another thread of cunty hatred for older people - on MN who'd a thunk it?

@dryingstuff does anyone think in ten years time there will be more hospital admissions because some people can not afford their medication?

This will overall increase costs. Perfectly predictable. Just like other cuts have increased costs on A and E.

I have paid tax and insurance since I was 16 and paid my way for 50 years- I paid for my prescriptions until I was 60. Why should you not do the same. !

Fully agree. ALL benefits need to be means tested.

Even if it costs more to administer than it "saves" ?

Well there could be the cash for this if we didn't keep giving it to corrupt Tories and their chums.

Part of it is that we still have this ridiculous belief that people who have retired have paid their "stamp". No! Your taxes went towards paying for your parents. My taxes are paying for my parents pensions. There isn't some mythical pot that we pay into all our lives and then draw out when we're old

they have paid into "the system" though - they paid it forward. And the expectation of them doing that is that the next generation pay them. Like it or lump it, that is how it was described to everyone on setting up the NHS etc, and it is how it is described now: intergenerational contracts.

I can’t afford it because everything has gone up except for my wages. I have to prioritise feeding my child over my own medication and if I can’t afford it, I have to wait until I can.

it's hard OP but how much is your prescription? Are you the only one feeding your child? Have you checked that you are claiming all allowances and benefits you're entitled to?

Are you sure? Because even on one medication per month, you save £4/yr

A prescription costs £9.65 per item, but a PPC costs:

• £31.25 for 3 months
• £111.60 for 12 months

This means if you’re going to buy 4 or more prescriptions in 3 months, or 12 or more prescriptions in 12 months, it may be cheaper to buy a PPC.

And don’t forget, if you get sick and need antibiotics or any other prescription there is no additional charge at all.

If you truly are paying less than £111.60 per year for your medication then I’m a little mystified as to how you cannot afford your medication?

Yes, luckily my antidepressants work really well for me which is why I keep taking them even though I thought about stopping this month to save the money. I ran out on Saturday and was really tearful this morning but this is the first chance I’ve had to collect them as the pharmacy shuts before I finish work.

@taxguru if you start means testing the state pension loads of fifty years old will quit work, withdraw money from their private pension, and live on that until state pension.
I have a very small private pension and I will do that.

Means testing is expensive. It would cost far more to administer that it would save from taking away free prescriptions from some people.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they changed it to “retirement age”, though, which will be anything from 66 to early 70s at the rate we’re going.

Prepaid certificates are wonderful things.

There’s already a system to check eligibility for free prescriptions it’s not like they need to start a new system. All benefits should be means tested

@catmothertes1

Sometimes, the GPs themselves ignore what you've ticked on your repeat request and issue everything!

My OH is on a long term chemo course which involved a carrier bag full of drugs every month. There are some he doesn't actually need, but there's no way of getting them knocked off the order which is done automatically by the oncology dept. He's told his consultant, he's told his "named specialist nurse", he's told the admin staff, but no one is willing to remove the items he doesn't take and no one seems to care about the cost. In fact, there's one drug that is over £100 per tablet and they issue 21 per month, but he only takes 1 every other day so only needs 10/11, but they won't reduce the number nor issue it every 2nd month, so that's £1000/£1100 of expensive drugs every single month that he doesn't need and doesn't take! Pharmacy say they will destroy if he takes them back and refuse to issue less than the prescribed amount, so one way or another, it's just wasted money! And like I say, the oncologist and nurses etc simply don't seem to care and won't change the automatic prescription!