NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate.

bass3k

I had a quick look through search and couldn't find any specifics in the threads that came up so I am really sorry if this has already been asked!

I have an NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate and I wear glasses. I have had the same pair for a while now and my eye site is starting to deterioate slightly so that the lenses aren't quite good enough for the job they are needed for. Is it possible for me to get the lenses replaced on this frame for free with my card or would they only do one of their frames etc (which isn't the end of the world of course, I just want to check really)

Also am I right that this card entitles me to free glasses? I read on a few sites it did but would prefer to double check!!

My wife also wants to know about the NHS dental treatment available with the card as she could do with a check up as it has been a while since she had one and so if that is covered by the card it makes sense to use it! If the dentist finds anything wrong is that covered too? Or would it be like going for free and finding you have several hundred pounds worth of damage to repair :eek:

Thanks in advance, again I am sorry if this is a repeated question I tried to check.

d123

you would be entitled to both dental and optical help, full details, including .pdf links available at:
http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/Healthcosts/pages/Abouthealthcosts.aspx

Direct link to the "Help with health costs" leaflet, you can download and print for further reference
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Documents/2009/HC11Nov09.pdf

bass3k

Thank you very much for your reply, that seems to have covered everything in one go. My understanding of that form is that all dental work required will be carried out free of charge and the same seems to go for optical work, although any special frames/lenses would be charged extra for, so I assume maybe I can get away with using the same frames as now if there aren't any I particularly suite in the opticians.

d123

bass3k wrote: »

My understanding of that form is that all dental work required will be carried out free of charge and the same seems to go for optical work, although any special frames/lenses would be charged extra for.

Opticians are slightly different, the actual eyetest is free with the Exemption Certificate, as are the lenses, and then there is a NHS voucher towards the frames. There are some free frames, but for the normal frames there is some charge (as I recall, at Specsavers the £69 frames cost £10 with the voucher).

GlasweJen

The NHS lenses aren't actually free, what happens is the optician will give you the prescription and based upon that they will then decide what class voucher you get depending on the NHS guidelines for the area, the worse the prescription the higher the voucher value (though you literally need to be wearing milk bottles to get beyond the basic voucher). The patient can then take that to any optician who accepts NHS patients and it can be used towards the cost of any complete glasses, usually large opticians will have an offer on NHS frames where they glaze with certain lenses that will total up to the NHS voucher value but not always.

If you like your current frame be prepared to pay to keep it, in addition to having to buy new lenses (and often firms will refuse the NHS rate special offer lenses into the patients own frame) you'll need to pay a glazing fee which can be anything in the region of £5 - £20 per lens. Also if the glazers damage the frame when fitting the new lenses then that's your tough luck.

The NHS voucher isn't granted automatically, there must be a significant change in prescription (this is at the optoms discretion and subject to local guidelines), the glasses you currently have need to be unfit for use any more either because of the prescription change or the frame must be needing replaced due to fair wear and tear. Scottish guidelines point to glasses having to last 2 - 3 years unless the patient is under 16.

Hope that helps.

d123

Just to add, a quick look at the Specsaver site shows a link to NHS prices, with glasses from free:

http://www.specsavers.co.uk/offers/NHS/

GlasweJen

be careful with the big opticians, I was once conned, asked if i wanted an anti-reflective coating on my lenses and when I went to collect them they said that the NHS offer isn't valid with the better lenses so I had to pay almost £150 for a pair of glasses with a 1.5 antireflective lens and the frame wasn't even designer!

d123

GlasweJen wrote: »

be careful with the big opticians, I was once conned, asked if i wanted an anti-reflective coating on my lenses and when I went to collect them they said that the NHS offer isn't valid with the better lenses so I had to pay almost £150 for a pair of glasses with a 1.5 antireflective lens and the frame wasn't even designer!

you cant really blame the optician for that, it would be reasonable to expect "extras" not to be covered by the NHS and perhaps you should have queried the costs before agreeing to the extras .

But I see from my link that you can have extras at Specsavers, you get the value of the voucher subtracted from whatever you choose.

Alternatively, you can put your NHS glasses entitlement towards any of our superb offers. You just pay the difference between your NHS entitlement value and the final transaction price (after the discount has been applied). Our staff will talk you through all the different offers available to make sure you get the best deal.

GlasweJen

It actually happened at specsavers, on the day I got my eyes tested they said that it was an extra £15 per lens and then when I went to collect they said that yeah it was extra for the lenses but that I couldn't use my voucher towards the cost which I now know was rubbish but this was about 3 years ago, young me thought that the person had to be right because they worked for the opticians.

GlasweJen

And you wouldn't believe the extras people expect the NHS to cough up for, one woman I know of went mental and made a complaint about us to the NHS because we refused to supply her child with a pair of prescription sunglasses free of charge for a 2 week holiday abroad. They also told her where to go.