Wednesday 31 March 2010
Prescription charges to be frozen
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mike O'Brien) has issued a statement to the effect that prescription charges will remain at £7.20 for 2010-11. There will be no changes to the pre-payment certificate charges either. I would be keen to see an overhaul of the 'exemption' categories, as I think there is an arguement for people with long term conditions, such as asthma, who currently have to pay, to have free prescriptions. People are often discouraged from taking their medicines regularly on account of cost and this can lead to exacerbations and the need for emergency care. Not only does this impact on the patient's health but also the hospital resources, and employers because of increased sickness absence. The simplest solution would be to abolish prescription charges altogether as has been done in Wales, with continued emphasis to use the lowest-cost, most effective treatments for any given condition.
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There is a long list of those entitled to free prescriptions at http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Free-or-Reduced-Cost-Prescriptions.htm . It does seem anomalous that a wealthy pensioner gets free prescriptions whilst someone less well-off with a chronic condition such as asthma does not. Some might then propose means-testing but often the cost of the bureaucracy required to administer means-testing outweighs the savings. A fairer system would free prescriptions for all, as in Wales.
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