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Prescription charges for the over 60's

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Comments

  • blue.peter
    blue.peter Posts: 1,353 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    All I can say is that if the over 60's and under state pension age are going to start being charged, then I would urge you to buy the prepayment method.  
    This is very good value for money as I found out, especially if you have a medication which you have all the time. (I am under 60).
    This covers any prescription medicines you have.

    It's not quite as simple as this. It depends on the number of prescriptions that you need in a year.

    The prescription charge is £9.35 per item (not per prescription - so a prescription for two items costs £18.70).

    A 12-month prepayment certificate (PPC) costs £108.10.

    If you only need one item per prescription and six prescriptions a year, it'd cost 6 X £9.35 = £56.10. In this case, it's clearly cheaper not to buy a PPC.

    It's only when you get to two drugs per eight-week period that the cost (6 x 2 x £9.35 = £112.20)  exceeds that of a one-year PPC. Even then, the saving is quite small - just over £4/year.

    I haven't done the maths for a series of three-month PPCs. If they run consecutively, there's still no saving even at two items per eight-week period. However, I guess that it might be possible to improve on this by leaving gaps and only buying a new one just before a prescription is due. But then you run the risk of needing a prescription for something else in the gap between PPCs.

    Do check the numbers before buying a PPC!
  • Auntycaz
    Auntycaz Posts: 3,278 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 17 March 2022 pm31 1:50PM
    Carrot007 said:
    arnoldy said:
     or Gaviscon on prescription - both available at supermarket for not much money.

    Gaviscon as prescribed costs more than a prescription.

    What is needed is to stop people reselling it for a profit. They even changed the lable to say not for retail sale and they still do it.


    No attempt to even say they are noit reselling prescribed medication with the picture.

    This is actually being sold by an online pharmacy. If you look at the bottle it has a P on the label which means it can only be purchased from behind the counter in a pharmacy when there is a pharmacist on the premises. The Gaviscon in supermarkets is GSL and not as strong.
  • unforeseen
    unforeseen Posts: 7,367 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I have 15 items per month. I use up the pre-payment cost (and more) every 28 days.
    I'm one of the people who pick up 224 paracetamol every 28 days.
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 46,908 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I haven't done the maths for a series of three-month PPCs. If they run consecutively, there's still no saving even at two items per eight-week period. However, I guess that it might be possible to improve on this by leaving gaps and only buying a new one just before a prescription is due. But then you run the risk of needing a prescription for something else in the gap between PPCs.

    Do check the numbers before buying a PPC!
    You can - or you used to be able to - order your prepayment certificate and tick a box to say you'd done that on the script, if it hadn't quite arrived. So that risk is reduced: if you need a prescription unexpectedly, apply before you collect what you need. 
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • Auntycaz
    Auntycaz Posts: 3,278 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    You can actually buy them at the till in some pharmacies while you are waiting for your prescription.
  • I receive Gaviscon Advance on prescription in a clear brown bottle with a pharmacy label. I get one 300 ml bottle every two months. My most expensive prescription daily pill, dasatinib, costs the NHS £30,477 a year. Thank goodness for free prescriptions.
    I have osteoarthritis in my hands so I speak my messages into a microphone using Dragon. Some people make "typos" but I often make "speakos".
  • unforeseen
    unforeseen Posts: 7,367 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I receive Gaviscon Advance on prescription in a clear brown bottle with a pharmacy label. I get one 300 ml bottle every two months. My most expensive prescription daily pill, dasatinib, costs the NHS £30,477 a year. Thank goodness for free prescriptions.
    You beat me. My most expensive is £9k per year at the NHS preferential rate. (normal price £36k per year) 
  • I receive Gaviscon Advance on prescription in a clear brown bottle with a pharmacy label. I get one 300 ml bottle every two months. My most expensive prescription daily pill, dasatinib, costs the NHS £30,477 a year. Thank goodness for free prescriptions.
    You beat me. My most expensive is £9k per year at the NHS preferential rate. (normal price £36k per year) 
    This is when I am most grateful to the NHS. I tell my wife every evening as I swallow my pill, "there goes another £83".
    I have osteoarthritis in my hands so I speak my messages into a microphone using Dragon. Some people make "typos" but I often make "speakos".
  • TELLIT01
    TELLIT01 Posts: 17,492 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper PPI Party Pooper
    lisyloo said:
    marlot said:
    >> I'm also only permitted 3 months at a time

    You must have an understanding GP.  I'm only prescribed one month at a time.
    I get 6 months, but I don’t pay as medically exempt.
    doesn't seem fair to me.

    I used to get 3 months supply each time in my prescription but received a letter saying they would only provide 2 months supply at a time in future.  This happened at the same time, pre-Covid, that GPs were starting to complain about how over worked they were, so where's the logic?
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