Pensions ,Prescriptions & Racheal Reeve’s

My mum's asthma medications were quite an outlay for her, and I could never understand why she wasn't exempt.

Another asthmatic here. I can't understand the reasoning either, but I suspect it's because there are so many of us.

I hate to think of people being unable to afford inhalers - an asthma attack is terrifying.

I know it was something my mum had to budget for, and she said the same thing, that it was terrifying; like trying to breathe through a pinhole.

I was diagnosed as asthmatic at five years old, been hospitalised too many times, lucky to be here, extremely grateful to ambulance and hospital staff.

Two inhalers, two daily tablets, along with frequent antibiotics and steroids. Reaching free prescription age was very much appreciated, in more ways than one.

I'll bet it was.
I have odd times of not being able to breathe properly, though I have no idea why, and it really is awful, though I appreciate it can't be that bad.

It sure felt bad to me!

Maybe you’re asthmatic too MissA
Perhaps you should have a chat with your doctor about it.

I agree, asthma attack, like trying to breathe through a tiny, narrow straw.

I’d forgotten, as well as the usual medications for asthma, there are the courses of steroids. Antibiotics too of course, but I need those infrequently, I’m more likely to need steroids.

The health service has to be paid for. The money does not fly out of the trees. Everyone is fighting for their own corner and the big picture is lost. Everyone has a reason for their access to funds and services remain but that is not possible. Costs have sky rocketed and numbers increased. How do they decide who is the fairest hit? Whatever is decided it will be wrong in someone’s eyes.
In many European countries you until death continue to pay the equivalent of NI contributions and pay towards medication. Changes have to come, surely people can see this whatever their political leaning is.

Gin

The health service has to be paid for. The money does not fly out of the trees. Everyone is fighting for their own corner and the big picture is lost. Everyone has a reason for their access to funds and services remain but that is not possible. Costs have sky rocketed and numbers increased. How do they decide who is the fairest hit? Whatever is decided it will be wrong in someone’s eyes.
In many European countries you until death continue to pay the equivalent of NI contributions and pay towards medication. Changes have to come, surely people can see this whatever their political leaning is.

Most on this site are very entitled and think they have the right to free everything and someone else will pay. There are very very few who accept that it all has to be paid for, the outrage in posts about WFA being restricted by £2 a week, when the pension has increased by £7

£2 a week?

In principle I agree, but what would you do about people with no money in older age? Or at any age, really.

We can’t cut off healthcare, but why should some pay and not others? There is already a feeling that it’s not worth making an effort as doing so prices you out of getting means-tested benefits, and that would be worse if we had to pay for healthcare or if workers had to pay NI and non-workers got it free.

NI and its link to work is wrong - it puts all the responsibility onto workers and lets others opt out. There should be a universal tax for able-bodied adults, with exceptions only for people who unable to pay, as opposed to choosing not to work and opting out that way. I still don’t know what we (as a society) do about people who still believe they have a right not to contribute though. Apart from the humanitarian issues, universal healthcare benefits everyone - having sick people puts a strain on everything.

I’m pleased I don’t have to make decisions like that - whatever you do is going to upset someone.

The thing that will most impact is surely fuel prices? The average price of fuel is currently less than it was last year, and is predicted to fall again in January, which will reduce everybody’s bills. Therefore the impact of losing the WFA for most pensioners will not be as great as it could be otherwise. Of course it could go up again, but currently it’s a mitigation.

Irrespective of free prescriptions or not, I do think it would be good for all to know how much their medication costs. Some people have no idea, and there is a lot which is wasted.

My DHs prescription since 2012 would have totally bankrupted us by now and like many in USA we would have lost our house.

I am eternally grateful for the welfare state and the NHS, and if we need to pay more for it - so be it. Imagine what private insurance would cost together with the fact that many would not be able to secure insurance for their condition.

Wyllow3

😂 here we go, "rumour has it".....

"I've heard that"

"I read that"

Rumours make the world go round - after all, if we sat around relying solely on official government statements for our information then we would really be up the creek. Especially if we were naive enough to think "but the government said so - it MUST be the truth!", eh Wyllow3 'Reference Please'.

Whitewavemark2

My DHs prescription since 2012 would have totally bankrupted us by now and like many in USA we would have lost our house.

I am eternally grateful for the welfare state and the NHS, and if we need to pay more for it - so be it. Imagine what private insurance would cost together with the fact that many would not be able to secure insurance for their condition.

WW the annual prescription exemption is currently around £114 past years it was much less. So it shouldn’t have been a burden, all other countries have insurance systems plus a welfare provision for those that don’t have insurance.

I have never complained about paying for my asthma medication all through my life until I was sixty. During part of that time, I was not working, but I still paid, and I didn’t complain. I always bought the prepaid certificate, and over ten years ago, when I was still buying it, it was over £100 so actually, it’s not gone up very much over those years.

However I have wondered why asthmatics pay for their life saving medications, whilst those with other life long conditions, don’t pay. That does seem strange.

I also find the fact that Wales and Scotland get free medication for everyone, whilst those in England do not, to be very unfair. We are either a United Kingdom, or we are not!

Rosie51

theworriedwell

I haven't paid for prescriptions since my underactive thyroid was diagnosed, a perk of having the condition. I just looked up how much a season ticket costs and it is under £10 a month if you buy a 12 month ticket, if you are on 8 items a month that is a real bargain.

And that's something that is inherently unfair. Your thyroid medication could be provided free on its own individual prescription, leaving you to pay for anything else. It's a mystery how they decide why some lifelong conditions qualify for this "perk" and not others. Asthmatics don't get free prescriptions despite needing medication just to be able to breathe.
As for the season ticket, it's all well and good quoting a 'per month' cost, but you can't pay monthly, you need to be able to afford the lump sum up front, not evrybody can manage that.

I don't know why we get all meds free if we have an underactive thryoid, don't know about overactive. As I'm in my 70s it hasn't been relevant for some time.

You don't have to pay for 12 months up front, you can get a 3 month certificate but I agree it would be useful if it could be monthly but I suppose the admin costs add up.

TakeThat7

So someone above finds it hard to believe a person over sixty could be on a lot of prescriptions because they are seventy and well themselves I'm on alot but would never have requested paracetomal I can buy that thanks very cheaply I very rarely go to the doctors I'm not some soppy person looking to be ill but life happens and some older people need a lot of prescriptiond

No you are twisting that. I was replying to a post saying over 60s are often on 8 or more. I'm not sure what percentage equates to often but I don't know anyone in my age bracket getting that much medication. Doesn't mean I don't believe some do but I question the often.

Regardless of whether one person finds the cost of prescriptions easy to cover, they are difficult for others.

If you have barely enough to live on, of course 100+ pounds is going to be hard to find, especially if you're without a partner or spouse.

Hopefully £32.50 for 3 months is a bit easier to find. For those people with 8 items it will more than pay for itself in month one.

Yes, that's a much more manageable amount.

I don’t know how much prescription medication my friends and siblings take, not a subject we’ve discussed.

The current annual prescription cost is around £2 a week if you don’t currently qualify for an exemption, that is ridiculously low. Those of us with dogs know how much medicines really cost, so prescription costs do need to be seriously reviewed.

Agreed, but as has been pointed out, you can’t buy them weekly (or monthly). They can only be bought quarterly or annually, which represents a significant outlay for someone on a low income.

David49

The current annual prescription cost is around £2 a week if you don’t currently qualify for an exemption, that is ridiculously low. Those of us with dogs know how much medicines really cost, so prescription costs do need to be seriously reviewed.

Why not say it costs about 30p a day for a prepaid season ticket, that makes it sound even more affordable? That your quoted weekly rate can't actually be paid weekly is relevant. I know people who have pets who 'shop around' for pet medication because costs vary so much. Are you suggesting a similar option for humans?

Most on this site are very entitled and think they have the right to free everything and someone else will pay. There are very very few who accept that it all has to be paid for, the outrage in posts about WFA being restricted by £2 a week, when the pension has increased by £7

Who are these 'most' who are very entitled? WFA is either £200 or £300, that equates to either £4 or £6 a week not £2, and any pension increase will be in April 2025, it hasn't gone up yet.
Some of us for whom this isn't a problem can empathise with those for whom it will be a great problem, it's a shame you are incapable of such empathy or concern.

Of course things need to be paid for and that burden should fall on those able to pay, not those already struggling just to survive.