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Jobseekers Allowance - do you get free prescriptions?

aardvark65
aardvark65 Posts: 275 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
in Employment, jobseeking & training
Can anyone clarify please whether you automatically get free prescriptions when you are on Jobseekers Allowance? When I did a search it said Income based Jobseekers Allowance - are there different types? My brother is getting £60 a week and thinks he has to pay for his prescriptions - surely not? Any advice appreciated.

Comments

  • i_want_to_believe
    i_want_to_believe Posts: 152 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Contributions based JSA -No free prescriptions
    Income based JSA - free presciptions
    http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/Healthcosts/pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx
  • aardvark65
    aardvark65 Posts: 275 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Seems incredibly unfair that if you have paid NI contributions, you can't get this but if you havn't you can!! It is his only income and he has to get regular prescriptions!! I had just assumed that now he has lost his job they would be free:mad:
  • storminbalder
    storminbalder Posts: 469 Forumite
    aardvark65 wrote: »
    Seems incredibly unfair that if you have paid NI contributions, you can't get this but if you havn't you can!! It is his only income and he has to get regular prescriptions!! I had just assumed that now he has lost his job they would be free:mad:

    You will probably be exempt on low income grounds anyway. It's just that Cont. Based JSA is not means tested, so it cannot be automatically assumed that you have a low income.
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