I don’t know the answer but thank you for the link. Very welcome news. What a relief if this happens. In case it’s not a done deal, I’d suggest that everyone who agrees writes to their MP to say this is a good idea, copying in these two MPs mentioned below and saying how women need this to happen. MPs need to know there’s public support for this.
Extract from article:
‘The government has promised a cut to the cost of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) prescriptions for women approaching or experiencing symptoms of the menopause.
A new government Menopause Taskforce has also been announced, and this will be co-chaired by the Minister for Women’s Health, Maria Caulfield and Labour MP Carolyn Harris, the latter of whom was pushing for a law to make the treatment free of charge in England.
HRT treats menopause symptoms by replacing hormones that are at a lower level for those experiencing it. It works by replacing the hormone, oestrogen, which a woman’s body stops producing when they go through menopause.
Currently, a prescription for HRT costs £9.35 – or £18.70 if a woman needs two types of hormones. This is often only provided on a short-term basis, meaning that the cost has to be paid regularly, once a month or every three months.
According to the BBC – under the new government proposal, HRT prescriptions will be made available on an annual basis, meaning that someone only needs to pay the prescription charge once a year. This could reduce the cost by between £90 and £200.
On this development, Carolyn Harris MP commented: “Today is a result for women across the country. The bill was never about wins for either side of the political divide – it was about wins the 51% of the population who will directly experience the menopause.
“The cost of HRT NHS prescriptions will be slashed – with the government committing to working towards getting this down to a single prescription charge per year – and the new task force will look at all the other areas of support which are currently falling short and failing women.”