Exemption certificate for nhs prescriptions and dental treatment

nicklenora

Under the tax credit system I currently am in receipt of an exemption certificate for nhs dental and prescription charges. I have seen on a Facebook group that once on UC an exemption certificate is only issued if your income is below £9000 per year. This is considerably less than the income threshold under the legacy benefits system and would basically put anyone on minimum wage working more than 18hours a week over the limit. This is a benefit potentially worth hundreds of pounds a year which will be lost to many on low incomes if they move to UC. I don’t even know if it will remain for those being migrated.

NedS

There are no exemption certificates on UC - that is a Tax Credits thing only and will end when your Tax Credits claim ends.

On the bottom of each monthly UC statement is the following information:

Examples of support you can get

What you can get may depend on how much you earn.

Your take-home pay for this Universal Credit period is £xxx.xx.

If your take-home pay per month is up to	You may be able to get help with
£435 (or up to £935 if you are responsible for a child or have limited capability for work)	Health costs Including free NHS prescriptions, free NHS wigs and fabric supports, free NHS dental treatment, free sight tests in England (NHS eye examinations are already free in Scotland), vouchers towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses and help with the cost of travel to receive NHS treatment on referral.
£1,250	Energy-saving home improvements The ECO Affordable Warmth scheme may be able to help you with energy-saving measures like a new boiler or insulation.
£1,250 (including any other income)	Prison visits If you're over 18 you can get help with the costs of visiting a close relative or partner in prison.

Eligibility is determined on a month by month basis, so if your earnings in that month are below the prescribed limits, you are eligible for the help. You would show your UC statement as your proof of entitlement. The limits in annual income terms equate to £5220 or £11220 depending on your circumstances (i.e, if you have a child on your claim or have LCW/LCWRA), but it doesn't matter what you earn in the year, only what you earned in the month the claim for support is made.

nicklenora

That is helpful - maybe something MSE could highlight in the guidance for those considering switching to UC voluntarily as it is a hidden ‘cost’ of switching that people may be unaware of and it won’t be flagged up by the online benefits calculator.

NedS

nicklenora said:

Under the tax credit system I currently am in receipt of an exemption certificate for nhs dental and prescription charges. I have seen on a Facebook group that once on UC an exemption certificate is only issued if your income is below £9000 per year.

Also, don't seek benefit advice from Facebook as clearly the advice is inaccurate. The best place to seek advice is from a trained benefit advisor - normally offered as a service by CAB (also note DWP do not offer benefit advice).

peteuk

If your getting multiple scrips, per month one way to reduce the cost is a pre paid exception.  You can pay monthly instalments.

calcotti

NedS said:

Eligibility is determined on a month by month basis, so if your earnings in that month are below the prescribed limits, you are eligible for the help. 

Shouldn’t that say “you are eligible for the help in the following month.” This simply because you only get the statement at the end of a month.

NedS

calcotti said:

NedS said:

Eligibility is determined on a month by month basis, so if your earnings in that month are below the prescribed limits, you are eligible for the help. 

Shouldn’t that say “you are eligible for the help in the following month.” This simply because you only get the statement at the end of a month.

Good question - I don't know what would happen if you claimed free dental care or prescriptions in a month where you had earnings that exceeded the limits, but were entitled the previous month as evidenced on the latest UC statement.

Spoonie_Turtle

NedS said:

calcotti said:

NedS said:

Eligibility is determined on a month by month basis, so if your earnings in that month are below the prescribed limits, you are eligible for the help. 

Shouldn’t that say “you are eligible for the help in the following month.” This simply because you only get the statement at the end of a month.

Good question - I don't know what would happen if you claimed free dental care or prescriptions in a month where you had earnings that exceeded the limits, but were entitled the previous month as evidenced on the latest UC statement.

Presumably that would be fine:

" ... your entitlement to free or reduced cost NHS healthcare depends on your earnings for the most recent assessment period. 
 ...

‘Most recent assessment period’ means the assessment period that ended immediately before the date you claim free NHS healthcare. It runs for a calendar month."

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/free-nhs-prescriptions/hwhc-universal-credit

calcotti

NedS said: I don't know what would happen if you claimed free dental care or prescriptions in a month where you had earnings that exceeded the limits, but were entitled the previous month as evidenced on the latest UC statement.

That would be fine. However if you claim free prescriptions in a month when your income is below the limit but it was over on the statement for the previous month you would be in breach of the rules.

The NHS website is clear (as quoted by Spoonie above).

NedS

Thank you both for the clarification - excellent work as always