Scrapping free prescriptions for people 60-66

Well we should have free prescriptions as they’ve taken everything else from us. I need mine to keep me going out to work till 66!

I was surprised to find my prescriptions were free from the age of sixty as I worked until sixty-five and could afford to pay for them.
Likewise a free bus pass.

I agree. I think I am correct in saying they are free for all their own citizens in Scotland and Wales.

I don't see why they should be free for people below retirement age. A prescription charge is less than £10, I believe - and there are prepayment arrangements for those needing regular ones.

I think dental fees are a far worse problem. A friend (with no private pension) had to find hundreds of pounds to have her teeth fixed. She was selling furniture etc. on Ebay to fund it!

Hetty58 It would be a totally wrong decision to start and make people oved the age of 60 start to pay now, when we know it is free for all in Scotland and Wales.

I'd be happy to pay for prescriptions if it meant that those who were unable to would benefit.

It should be brought in line with state pension age. Surely the whole idea of free prescriptions was when you retired at 60? Now that has altered, it follows that all associated benefits, i.e. prescriptions, bus passes, leisure facilities, etc should be for the new age.

Harsh, but logical.

If you have to wait until your 66 - 67 for you state pension and you work. I think you should pay, I was surprised when I reached 60 that prescription charges became free.
If your exempt, you know its free or a year's pre paid is about £110 (?).

love0c

Hetty58 It would be a totally wrong decision to start and make people oved the age of 60 start to pay now, when we know it is free for all in Scotland and Wales.

Its free at the point of use because we voted for governments that value that as a health investment worth making. Whilst the UK government decided that the English public can take their chances, and clearly they are supported by many on here.

Extending the pension age was a financial and political decision. It cannot change the fact that our bodies are still 60 years old. Things start to go wrong, for example high blood pressure, the risk of strokes and heart attacks can be greatly reduced by taking regular medication to lower blood pressure, thus preventing more serious and therefore more expensive conditions. Women in particular very often put themselves last and would be quite likely to save the prescription money to spend on another member of the family.
Charging for prescriptions is not economically sensible.

The decisions to have free prescriptions for Wales and Scotland by the respective governments was based on equal access for all ages to the healthcare they need, not just over 60s, there are millions of people who are in work who live close to the poverty line and cannot afford to pay for prescriptions. It’s easy to sit in your comfy house, having worked to over 60 yourself and make uninformed statements, but please read the research and see the reality.

Alegrias1

love0c

Hetty58 It would be a totally wrong decision to start and make people oved the age of 60 start to pay now, when we know it is free for all in Scotland and Wales.

Its free at the point of use because we voted for governments that value that as a health investment worth making. Whilst the UK government decided that the English public can take their chances, and clearly they are supported by many on here.

I think it's a bit unfair to say that 'we' voted for this government in England - I certainly didn't. I hear that argument from Scottish friends a lot, and it sounds very smug and confrontational, particularly as three is no 'we' in either country. Scots people don't speak with one voice any more than the English.

As for the prescription charges, I think that it would disadvantage many. The women who have had years added to their pension age are already suffering, either financially if they have retired at an age that is now considered 'early', or physically if they are doing manual jobs beyond the age where this is good for them. The former group will have retired having worked out their budgets thinking that prescriptions would be free, and the latter are more likely to need prescriptions than younger people or those not in work. As Ilovecheese says, it is not economically sensible to put people in a position where they may end up costing the NHS more for neglected conditions than they cost in free prescriptions, quite apart from the human cost.

Older people are an easy target, and the government has made life into an intergenerational conflict, which is based on a completely fallacious perspective. It is not 'taking from the young' to allow older people (along with pregnant women, those on benefits and those with particular medical conditions) to have free prescriptions. It is predominantly younger people who have benefited from furlough, for instance - these things are not a case of taking from one group to give to another.

If the amount that older people have paid in over decades is not enough to cover their care, that is not their fault - we have paid what we were asked to pay. Governments should have reformed the system to ensure that there was enough - they are the ones who have been in charge of managing it.

Casdon

The decisions to have free prescriptions for Wales and Scotland by the respective governments was based on equal access for all ages to the healthcare they need, not just over 60s, there are millions of people who are in work who live close to the poverty line and cannot afford to pay for prescriptions. It’s easy to sit in your comfy house, having worked to over 60 yourself and make uninformed statements, but please read the research and see the reality.

I agree with your point that there are younger people who can't afford to pay either, but two wrongs don't make a right. Equal access to free healthcare should be a right for all, IMO, and the way to ensure that is not to use access as a tax on those in work - means testing creates poverty, rather than alleviating it.

Also, having a 'comfy house' does not make people uninformed. I get so fed up of that argument on here. Anyone who is on GN has a computer or smartphone and access to wifi, which already puts us in a privileged position.

I think it's a bit unfair to say that 'we' voted for this government in England

That's OK then because that's not what I said.

Scottish and Welsh elections have resulted in governments that have implemented "free" prescriptions. The UK government, elected by all nations, want to charge more people for prescriptions in the nations where it is allowed to do so.

Thanks Doodledog. I agree of course that having a comfy house doesn’t make people uniformed - I’m one of them too, as no doubt most on here are. It was a figure of speech, what I find annoying is when people sound off in an ‘I’m alright Jack’ way which implies that people who can’t afford things like prescriptions are lazy/feckless.

Over 90% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge as it is now.

Zoejory

Over 90% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge as it is now.

That seems a very high figure as anyone working has to pay, so these figures imply that 90% of our population are children, over 60 or claiming certain benefits ( limited). Surely not?

pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/news/prescription-charge-overhaul-would-raise-1bn-a-year-for-nhs-says-think-tank

The above article is 7 years old but I doubt much has changed.

Teacheranne

Zoejory

Over 90% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge as it is now.

That seems a very high figure as anyone working has to pay, so these figures imply that 90% of our population are children, over 60 or claiming certain benefits ( limited). Surely not?

A number of people of working age are eligible for free prescriptions: pregnant women and for a year after birth, people with certain health condition eg diabetes. I would imagine a few million fall into one of those categories. They are more likely to need medication than others. The vast majority of healthcare spending is spent in the last years of life. I can easily believe that 90% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge.

Calendargirl

It should be brought in line with state pension age. Surely the whole idea of free prescriptions was when you retired at 60? Now that has altered, it follows that all associated benefits, i.e. prescriptions, bus passes, leisure facilities, etc should be for the new age.

Harsh, but logical.

I agree, although it isn’t harsh, it’s fair.

This gives a better perspective.
pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/feature/prescription-charges-backfire-on-uk-health-andnbspwealth

If over 90% are free anyway it makes much more sense to make 100% free as it would eliminate a whole layer of bureaucracy.

some people cannot afford prescriptions supposing someone went to the GP and they were given a prescription to make them better and couldn't afford to pay for it they throw it away and their condition gets worse they are then hospitalised because of this, this will cost the NHS more money to keep them in hospital rather than the cost of the prescription we have paid into the national health all our working lives it's unfair they are wanting to take this away from us it's okay for the people who have money saying let them do it but think of the poor people

Women in particular very often put themselves last and would be quite likely to save the prescription money to spend on another member of the family.

Unless such women are spending what would have been their prescription money on absolute essentials for other members of family, this suggests to me that they could actually afford to pay for their prescriptions.

Which does not necessarily mean I'm advocating charging more people for prescriptions. I just found that argument above to be a bit specious.