Prescription Fiasco??

[simonmcl]

I am a disbaled man who up until recently has paid for all his medication, amounts to some £40 a throw, but due to continuous ill health I have been put on long term sick and invalidity benefit. I now find that I still have to pay for prescriptions but a friend who has never worked in his entire life, gets invalidity benefit paid via income support and gets everything free. :-?

 

Surely if someone is on invalidity then by definition they have something wrong with them which, on balance of probabilities, needs constant medication so why is someone on one benefit made to pay whilst the other gets away with everything free???

[Bookworm]

That's because certain benefits get automatic entitlement, some don't.

 

Depending on your income, you could still qualify for partial or total exemption.

 

The site here:

http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidanceArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4078082&chk=XPwtgz

 

has the leaflet explaining who can and can't get help, and how to apply.

 

I should also say that benefits for being disabled (DLA) depends on your disability, not on your income. So you could be very rich, and still qualify for DLA. Thus, you wouldn't need help with your prescriptions, you see?

[mechs]

Hi simon I am in a simular situation I have a hiatus hernia asthma and a recent heart bypass although I am not disabled I only recieved staturory sick pay whilst off work for 6 months at the moment I am working part time (thats all I can physicaly manage). and on half pay

 

Anyway if I had to pay for my scripts it would cost me nearly 60 pounds ( i take 9 lots) every 2 months

 

I think its deplorable that some illnessess allow you to have free medication and some are not covered.I would have though it was descrimination.

What I have done is bought a prepayment certificate you can pay for them either yearly or for 4 months and all your scripts are then free I think its about 90 pounds for a year and 44 for four months if you have paid for a prescription recently cant remember the time limit you can claim it back .....but the certificate starts from that date.......if you buy your certificate a day or two before you need a script and phone them to pay for it with a debit card you can then say you have a pre payment certificate if you are crafty like me you may be able to get 3 lots in then wait till you are due another batch before renewing the certificate hope this will save you some money .

 

I cant find any contact details for you I am afraid but if you go to the chemist either now or when you purchase your next lot of medication ask for an application form for a pre payment certificate they will either give you a form or the phone number

[Jhawc24]

There is a great forum on www.yourable.com it provides a great source of information for people on disability / sick benefits and their carers.

[mechs]

Thanks on the way now to take a look see:D

[simonmcl]

Thanks for all that info. I will check it out

[Rooster-UK]

Whether or not you can get free prescriptions depends on the medical condition.

(You could be off work for months with a broken foot but it would hardly be life threatening). I agree that if you're on benefits, or stat. sick pay then medication is not cheap.

I am glad that I don't have to pay for mine. I have 12 items every month (mostly for my heart condition), but as a diabetic I have an exemption certificate becase the medication that I take is not to make me feel more comfortable, it is to keep me alive.

The pre-payment certificate will certainly save you some money though, and well worth looking into.

[mechs]

Hi Rooster, I also need medication to keep me alive I suffer from an irregular heart beat ( the heart pumps @ 150 + beats a minute ) but does not pump the blood to well so I take tablets for it, what my complaint is ....some ilnessess you get free prescriptions some you dont so either charge everyone or give it out free

[Retro1972]

The Scottish Executive is currently doing an online consultation on this very subject. I'm in a similar situation where I'm on Incapacity Benefit so therefore don't automatically qualify for free scripts. I have bought a pre-payment certificate while I wait to find out whether I'll qualify for exemption due to low income. If I do then I can reclaim the cost of the pre-payment cert. I bought mine at the chemist while I was collecting prescriptions (I don't think all chemists can do this). Had I had to pay for the scripts I was collecting it would have cost £45+. The 4 month pre-payment cert costs £34 odd.

 

Lindsey

[furrynavel]

It really is very frustrating isn't it?

My asthma is very severe and has been and will be with me for life.

I read somewhere that if you have a lifethreatening condition that will affect you for life your prescriptions are free - apart from asthma:confused:

[Vital Spark]

Whether or not you can get free prescriptions depends on the medical condition.

(You could be off work for months with a broken foot but it would hardly be life threatening). I agree that if you're on benefits, or stat. sick pay then medication is not cheap.

I am glad that I don't have to pay for mine. I have 12 items every month (mostly for my heart condition), but as a diabetic I have an exemption certificate becase the medication that I take is not to make me feel more comfortable, it is to keep me alive.

The pre-payment certificate will certainly save you some money though, and well worth looking into.

 

The prescriptions an asthmatic receives are also to keep that sufferer alive. In fact, a person experiencing an asthmatic attack is more likely to die more rapidly than is someone having a heart attack. Asthma can deteriorate rapidly.

 

A very young, teenage, girl (local to me) died from an asthma attack not too far back while her sister and friends stood around helpless. The ambulance, even had it been only 500 yards away, couldn't possibly get to her fast enough.

 

Asthma is a chornic condition in which breathing becomes constricted when the airways are narrowed by inflamation. It IS a killer disease. Sufferers most definitely should get free prescriptions. Asthma cannot go untreated.

 

Saying that, I find my natural remedies better than those prescribed but that works for me. I would not have even considered relinquishing my prescribed medication until I was absolutely sure that the natural remedy worked. Even now, I have a supply of prescribed medication in my possession in case this relief I'm experiencing is some coincidental fluke (I doubt it but an asthmatic can never dare take that chance,).

 

I have found natural remedies, which are more beneficial than most prescribed medications, for a number of my ailments/disabilities but one has to be able to afford them. They are not cures so when I can't afford them, I am just as disabled as I was before taking them. Believe me, that's DISABLED.

[M_A_A_B]

Hi

 

I'm not on income support....I'm not entitled to it because I'm on incapacity benefit at the long term rate....I got a HC1 form (I phoned NHS direct and asked them to post me one but I think you can get them from some pharmacies, clinics etc) I now have a HC2 form which entitles me to free prescriptions, free sight tests and NHS help with glasses, dental care and (if I ever need it!) wigs on the NHS!

 

I dont work (I'm unable to) and I'm on a low income (just benefits) so I was entitled.....I think you can also claim back 3 months worth if/when you apply...

 

Students can also apply for this and may get some help with costs....

 

Might be worth looking in to and applying as I'm sur eit would be a great help to you.

 

Cheers, Amy

[alibobsy]

The whole prescription payment system needs overhauling. I also have asthma and have written to various mps about this issue, but noone is interested. I could not function and get out of bed each day let alone look after my kids and go to work, albeit part time, without my medication. They has been times when I have had to stuggle for a couple of days on a reduced dose to get to pay day to pay for my prescription, or haven't had the cash to get a prescription given to me when I had a chest infection whilst I was off with the kids and not working . Our income means we don't qualify for any help, but we have bills etc to pay and have little left over each month to live off let alone pay for prescriptions. Yet someone who is on job seekers gets all their scripts for free, even if they only have minor complaints. So I pay full price for life saving medicine so they can have free nurofen for a slight head cold, that makes sense not!

My dad has free prescriptions as he is over 60, but when he first turned 60 he was on 50k a year! Even he thought that was silly.

About time the whole system was revised.

ali

[Vital Spark]

Well, the following is cheaper and not too bad. Try this:

organic vegetable bouillon (stock cube), onions in any form (leeks are good especially with fresh ginger) add as many hot seasonings such as chilli, gingr, cayene, cloves, pepper etc and even narstursium seeds as you can take and eat only this for 1 week. The next week you get to add a carrot if you want and raw veg but stay off fruit (avoid the yeast).

 

not oly does this open pu the lungs (airways) but ti loosens up the mucous and decreases it's production.

 

My sister was given this recipe by a holistic practitioner who also happens to be extremely highly qualified in conventional medicine: a brilliant lady: one of few with a bit of vision.

 

My sister had struggled with asthma, emphysema and chest infections for months before a consultation with this doctor. Her regular GP and hospital respiratory specialist were treating her unsuccessfully.

 

She telephoned me today and was breathing easily. She told me that she has never felt so all round good in years.

 

Last week she sounded like she was about to pass on to the great unknown.

 

I'm going to give it a try.

 

AND

 

She never knew she would find the thought of a plate of raw veg so mouthwatering. LOL!

[andypoth]

Hi, I'm a community pharmacist so I might be able to add some fresh insights/clear up a few things. My wife also has fibromyalgia and needs to take a huge amount of medication each day to be pain-free. She has to pay for all of this, normally five or six items per month, except that she has a prepayment certificate.

 

Basically, the only conditions that are automatically exempt are: hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus not treated by diet alone, epilepsy requiring constant anticonvulsant treatment, a permanent disability that makes it impossible for you to go out alone, and an ostomy requiring permanent surgical dressing - there might be more but I'm at home and don't have the info with me. Strictly speaking, you are only exempt if you have one of these conditions AND have a Medical Exemption certificate, which has to be obtained from the Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS Business Services Authority (I'll call it the PPD from now on as that's easier!) - unless you've been issued with the certificate you are strictly speaking committing fraud even if you have the condition. Your GP has to countersign the application to confirm you have the condition you're claiming for. The certificate starts from the 1st of the month the application was received, so if you ask for an NHS receipt from the pharmacy, you might be able to claim the charges back depending on the dates etc.

 

If you don't have the condition then you can be exempt if you're under 16, over 60 or 16-18 and in full-time education, pregnant, on income support*, income-based Jobseeker's*, Pension Credit Guarantee*, or NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate*, hold an HC2 certificate (low income but not in receipt of benefits), or have a pre-payment certificate (PPC) (* means you're exempt if you or your partner gets this benefit).

 

There's a few interesting things about PPCs - they are valid for four or twelve months, and are worthwhile if you get more than five prescription items in a four-month period. They cover all medication, so stuff you take regularly and one-offs like antibiotics are included. They can also be backdated by up to one month, and if you ask the pharmacist for an "NHS Receipt" when you collect your prescription, the charge can be refunded once you have purchased the certificate, provided the PPC covers the date the charge was paid.

 

Note about NHS receipts - these have to be on a specific form (FP57) - a till receipt isn't sufficient, but all pharmacies should issue an FP57 on request.

 

HC2 certificates are issued to people on low incomes who aren't in receipt of other benefits that make them exempt but the criteria are quite strict. Most pharmacies keep the application forms. Again, charges can be refunded against an NHS receipt as long as the certificate covers the period the receipt was issued, or you can send off receipts with the application form. This is the only way that students might be exempt (unless medically) but unfairly they count the Student Loan as income, even though it has to be paid back.

 

Also, prescription charges normally increase in April each year. If you buy a 12-month PPC at the end of March, you will pay the current price but be covered for twelve months even though the prescription charge and therefore PPC price increases a few days later.

 

Finally, there was an announcement in this weeks Pharmaceutical Journal regarding some changes that will come into effect next year - the Government are reviewing the charges situation in England (Wales and Scotland are devolved to their National Assemblies) but basically from next July you will be able to pay for a PPC by monthly direct debit of around £7, which I'm sure is going to help a lot of people (particularly as the prescription charge will have increased again to around £6.80 by then).

 

One more thing to remember is Private Prescriptions - the charge you pay for an NHS prescription is set by the Government and bears no relationship to the cost or quantity of the drug you have been prescribed. So, even if the drug only costs pence, or several hundred pounds, you pay the same charge.

 

Private prescriptions are totally different. The NHS is not involved in any way, any pharmacy can dispense them and GPs are allowed to issue them to NHS patients if they request them. However, one thing pharmacies cannot do is dispense NHS prescriptions as private prescriptions, as our contract with the NHS prohibits this. But a lot of drugs are cheaper on private prescription than NHS prescription, e.g. bendroflumethiazide, atenolol, amoxicillin to mention just a few, so it might be worth asking your local pharmacist how much your regular meds would cost from them on a private prescription - bear in mind however that there is no standard pricing scheme for private prescriptions so different pharmacies will charge different prices, and the cost is directly related to the cost and quantity of the drug.

 

Finally, there have been quite a few changes of drugs from prescription-only to pharmacy-only status, so it might be worth asking your pharmacist if your prescribed drugs can be bought over-the-counter (OTC) cheaper.

 

And one last thing - Drontal and Frontline, two of the most used veterinary products for worms and fleas respectively can now be purchased from pharmacies without a vet's prescription, and probably a lot cheaper as well (we've just started doing this in Littlehampton).

 

Hope this has been helpful!

[simonmcl]

This topic was closed on 09 March 2019.

If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there.

If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened.

- Consumer Action Group