I have recently been contacted by constituents regarding prescription
charges for asthma medication.
I do understand your concerns but agree with the current
policy of the Government on this.
People on working age and with low income in receipt of
income-related benefits already get free prescriptions.
These benefits include:
the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit
Income Support
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit (in some
circumstances)
Universal Credit.
If you don’t receive any of these benefits, but have a low
income, you may still get some help with health costs through the NHS Low
Income Scheme.
Everyone aged over 60 gets free prescriptions and eye tests,
but you may be entitled to help with other NHS health costs too, depending on
your circumstances.
So if you’re aged over 60, you should always ask your
dentist, optician or hospital staff for advice on whether you’re eligible for
help with costs before paying for any medical treatment.
If you're under 60 and not on a low income, you can save
money on prescriptions by buying prescription prepayment certificates from the
NHS for 3 months or 12 months. This covers all your prescriptions for that
period, regardless of how many you need.
You can also get a Prescription Prepayment Certificate
(PPC), which would save you a lot of money if you are getting two or more
prescriptions every month. For more information see the link below:
The devolved Governments for Wales and Scotland have made
the decision to make all of the prescriptions free, but I believe if we made
prescriptions free we would have to take the money away from other important
areas of the NHS.
I hope this outlines my position on this matter and the
information I have provided is helpful.
