Why do we have to pay so much for prescriptions in England, when everyone else pays pennies or nothing at all?

[SpeedyGonzalez]

I've only recently discovered this and am incensed! I don't mind paying something, but £7.70 or whatever it is is bad enough, until you discover that it's free elsewhere in the UK.

Eh? Why does it matter if it's free somewhere else? It is free for:

Those on low incomes
Pregnant women
Students
Children
People with certain long term health conditions

And if you don't meet these conditions then I think £7.70 is still cheap compared to the cost of the actual drug in most cases.

but these drugs cost a fortune - they have to be paid for somehow

if you have multiple prescriptions then you can buy a pre paid card which works out much cheaper

which bit are you incensed by?

It's swings and roundabouts though, although in Wales we have free prescriptions there are other areas which are less well funded.

Wales has free prescriptions but has longer Waiting lists. Different choices for different countries.

I have a prepaid but dh has just been perscribed stuff for asthma after a few years without anything. I went to the shop with about £15 in my purse and didn't have enough. £30 they wanted. That was a bit of a shock.

unfit/ helyg - I didn't know that, is that something they're trying to rectify?

ruby - it's the gaping difference between £7+ vs £0 that I object to. I've already said that I don't mind paying something.

bertie - of course the people on your list should have some sort of financial assistance; that goes without saying. But basing such a huge price difference on geography is arbitrary, whereas your list is not.

I was told that here in Scotland (where we do still pay, but not as much as £7) there were so many people not getting the drugs they needed because they were unable to pay for their prescription, that it was costing the NHS more in the long-run.

So the NHS is actually saving money by making prescriptions cheaper.

Why should our kids in England pay tuition fees at university, when in Scotland they only pay a fraction?

Perhaps it's because so many people fail to take their meds when they do get them and there is a vast amount of wastage?

Perhaps it's just that we place a token value on medications - you pay the same fee for a Mirena coil costing about £100 as a packet of antihistamines (£1).

Partly I think it encourages people to use pharmacies more - a lot of the drugs GPs prescribe for minor ailments can be bought over the counter cheaper.

I really don't see what you are complaining about?

I'd get used to it if I were you. If Labour and the Lib Dems get their way, England will be bearing the brunt of the entire economic crisis as well.

It's £3 in Scotland currently, to go down to zero next year. £7.70 would stop me getting prescriptions for sure. As for DH who's on a cocktail of stuff, I dread to think.

My pharmacy is great.

If it can be bought over the counter cheaper they tell me.

DH has a yearly prepaid card. He has PsA and blood pressure issues and his monthly prescription charges would be a fortune, so it's worth the initial outlay for us.

If I need a prescription I am always horrified by the cost, but uderstand the reasons for it.

Very true gaelicsheep - actually whoever gets in any such concessions will go out the window - the country cannot afford it. You are either on benefits/underage and get them free or you will pay a lot more.

Think of the cost of stamps as an indication of how this game will run.

DDs drugs are £30/month for one, £100 per week for another, and £12/month for the third.

I am glad she is a child, but a prepayment cert if she was an adult would be £10 per month, saving around £430 per month.

wmmc - looks like you've misread my posts.

AP - wow, that's an extraordinary piece of information. That is shocking.

Speedy - yes I know some people pay more or less but people in different areas of England pay more for health care - some of us go to GP surgeries where we have to pay to park for example, for some, the GP refuses to prescribe but will tell us what we need.

The whole pricing/payment thing of the NHS is just plain old weird so I sort of agree with you. I don't understand how GPs can be paid extra to provide certain services (which to me are just plain old doctoring) because they fit with policy.

whomovedmychocolate - I though no one pays for a mirena coil on the NHS - all contraception is free or have they started charging now?

SP - here is a report about the affect that free prescriptions has had on the health of Welsh people. It's very interesting.

I was told by my GP I'd have to pay the prescription charge - but maybe that was because it was partly to solve heavy periods.

wmmc - good point about variations within areas of England. And yes - I don't understand why GPs get extra payments as you described, except that perhaps it was part of the New Labour business-driven approach to running public services.

AP, really sorry but I don't have time to read through that whole document! Do you have a summary? Presumably it says that the health of Welsh people has improved as a result of cutting the charges?

It's basically this:
"Free prescriptions are a long-term investment in improving health. If people
are put off seeking appropriate care, due to financial reasons, their health will
not improve, but if patients are able to get the treatment they need it will
ultimately help to reduce the long term cost to the health service.
Free prescriptions also ensure people are not put off getting medicines due to
cost. Likewise, there were people on benefits who may have been deterred
from taking up jobs because they may have lost access to free prescriptions ?
especially if their employment was not highly paid, and if they needed multiple
items on prescription. Free prescriptions therefore remove the barrier to work
and better health."

Fascinating stuff, AP. And it all makes logical sense. Well done the Welsh.

And that's absolutely true. I know that when we lived in England my DH was put off seeking help for his depression and blood pressure problems in the past because we couldn't afford the prescription charges. Now we know about pre-payment certificates, but we didn't back then. Are they only £10 a month in England as well?

Yes, gaelic sheep. £28.25 for a 3-month one, or £104 for a 12-month one. The 12-month one can be paid by DD at £10.40 per month. As long as you keep receipts, you can pay for a back-dated PPC and get a refund of all the prscription charges you have paid for the last 3 months. So, for example, if you have an infection & are prescribed antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, you'd pay £14.40. No reason to buy a PPC. But then the infection doesn't clear, and the doctor decides it is fungal, so gives you a cream & oral anti-fungals. You would pay another £14.40, but instead you can pay for a 3-month PPC, which will save you £0.55, but also last you another 2 months.