Payment for prescriptions

If you have a State pension and in Hospital for more that 4 weeks you are supposed to declare it, as you not "entitled" to it.

Incorrect.

"Like a workplace pension, the State Pension isn’t affected by your state of health and should continue to pay out if you’re in hospital."

"However, the government does ask hospital patients receiving a State Pension to get in touch with the Pension Service helpline to clarify their benefit entitlements."

www.pensionbee.com/pensions-explained/pension-rules/what-happens-to-your-pension-when-in-hospital

It's an ongoing mystery to me that people make definitive statements about things when 2 minutes of googling would prove the statements inaccurate.

Baggytrazzas

?

I believe prescriptions are free in Wales and Scotland. I don't know about Northern Ireland.
So if we go with this suggestion does it mean that only those in England pay.

not sure i would want to pay for some of the food in hospitals, but if the extra money meant better food then it might be worth it.

kittylester

The NHS can't carry on as it is. We have pay for it somehow.

What is your solution?

How much would actually be saved, when admin costs are factored in? How long would it be before the charges would go up because the charges don't cover the costs?

How many hospital stays take place in a year? How about multiplying the number of night stays x £8 and then adding a little extra to everybody's tax? The systems are already in place for tax and wouldn't involve extra admin.

How would it be decided who is "poor"? We all know that there are people who are a few pounds over the threshold for any state benefits and this would exacerbate the problem.

It's just the kind of mean thing the Tories might do. Means testing would imply a whole lot of expensive officials to carry it out (or the Tories would contract it out to their friends) thus adding to costs and there would be lots of marginal cases needing an appeals apparatus, also at cost. We've seen what happens when private companies assess people for disability benefits. This idea is tinkering. The NHS should remain free at delivery.

Introducing charges here and there will be wasteful and probably cost more to collect. All very well for countries that have such systems but this is the UK.

How many BILLIONS were wasted on the failed IT system which never materialised? I can't find any reliable figure but it was said to be TEN BILLION POUNDS, wasted, down the drain, gone!

No heads rolled.

But don’t get any have higher pensions ?

It would seem fair enough for those with money and those on pension credit would still get it free but it’s those just over the line that would suffer
More Tory stealth at privatising our NHS

How would it be decided who is "poor"? We all know that there are people who are a few pounds over the threshold for any state benefits and this would exacerbate the problem.
Which is what I have been saying for years on here, and you have always countered it by saying that means-testing was my 'hobby-horse' and that defending pensioners didn't take account of the fact that working people were also poor. What has changed?

We need a national conversation and a democratic way forward.

For my part I would stick to the principle “free at the point of delivery”

I would ensure a dedicated tax that was written into the constitution, and I would set a a charitable trust to run it OUT OF GOVERNMENTS HANDS.

I would vote for that, WWM. I would really like to see a social contract that could not be broken, so that we all know what we are paying for when we pay in and what we can expect to get at point of need. Oh, and how 'need' is going to be defined.

Need? Same as now I think.

How is it defined now? It seems to fluctuate depending on who uses it, and which group is being discussed.

This is what I found re benefits and hospitalisation:

Payments you get of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Adult Disability Payment Scotland and Attendance Allowance (AA) will stop after you have been in hospital for 28 days. If you are under 18 on the day you enter hospital, your DLA, Adult Disability Payment Scotland or PIP payments will not stop.

It's all explained more fully on Turn2Us website (where I found this).

You lot don’t know you’re born! I would say the UK is the best country in the world for cheap/free medical treatment.

If we didn't refer to the state pension as a "benefit" it would be much clearer which benefits are not paid when you are in hospital etc. Nobody would think it appropriate if someone suggested any other pension should not be paid in these circumstances.

Doodledog

*How would it be decided who is "poor"? We all know that there are people who are a few pounds over the threshold for any state benefits and this would exacerbate the problem.*
Which is what I have been saying for years on here, and you have always countered it by saying that means-testing was my 'hobby-horse' and that defending pensioners didn't take account of the fact that working people were also poor. What has changed?

Nothing has changed! I actually agree with you in principle, but there would still be anomalies and I don't know how they could be sorted out. There also has to be a recognition that many people have not "paid into the system" for a variety of reasons - and, as a society, we can't leave those people to rot in the gutter.

There also has to be a recognition that many people have not "paid into the system" for a variety of reasons - and, as a society, we can't leave those people to rot in the gutter.
And I have never failed to recognise that.

Doodledog

How is it defined now? It seems to fluctuate depending on who uses it, and which group is being discussed.

Exactly! There's a "delightful" character on one of my local Facebook groups, who thinks that the NHS shouldn't pay for mental health care. His definition of "need" isn't the same as mine!

Doodledog

*There also has to be a recognition that many people have not "paid into the system" for a variety of reasons - and, as a society, we can't leave those people to rot in the gutter.*
And I have never failed to recognise that.

We agree much more than you think!

You shouldn't take my attempts to play devil's advocate too seriously!

Means testing always sounds logical until you work out the cost of administering such a scheme. Forms to be filled in, claims to be checked, details to be verified to avoid fraud - and so it goes on.

Aveline

My Dad, a GP, always felt that there should be a small charge for appointments. Really just to reduce the numbers of failed appointments. People with long term conditions need not pay. I used to be appalled at the number of DNAs at GP surgeries when I used to have to book clinics there.
Changed days now of course when you have to beg and plead for an appointment.
We are reaping the whirlwind of reduced places on nursing courses and prioritising lucrative foreign students on medical courses.

There have, apparently, been many DNAs at a local hospital because people were sent their appointment texts/emails and letters after the appointment time.
DH was one of them. When he did get another appointment, the Consultant said they wondered why so many were failing to keep their appointments.

There is a lot of inefficiency and waste in the system.

Means testing penalises those whom Theresa May called Just About Managing and in itself costs money.

I think one way is to look at how other countries provide health care and try to take the best.

I did look at the various health care systems at one time, and was impressed.