Change free prescriptions to state pension age?

By the way, I agree that for somebody with income low enough to receive means-tested benefits (or just missing out), finding money for a prepayment certificate is tough - but people don't have to - they can apply for an HS2 certificate.

Rosie51 The majority of pensioners and those close to the edge a PC apart, less than 15% of the total, the other 85% are quite capable of managing it. Quarterly season tickets are now available as well.
Just give everyone a free season ticket for the first year, allowing them to save for the second year. I can think of several other alternative solutions.

Why do people not look for solutions to problems? Why do they just say no to any change, without suggesting solutions

I am beginning to understand why the government treats us like children and gives us our pensions in these dribbly little hypothetised amounts. Many of us clearly, after a lifetime of earning and paying for everything, have learnt no money management skills at all and are completely infantilised by the time they reach 60, but the majority of us aren't.

Nothing will change and nothing will improve if everyone's face is firmly set against any change of any kind and in any way.

M0nica Just give everyone a free season ticket for the first year, allowing them to save for the second year.

Well yes that would work but it wasn't your earlier suggestion of just raise PC by £3 a week. Given the way withdrawal of WFA has been handled so far with no mitigations announced, why would you think any government would be proactive over withdrawing free prescriptions?
It's not a matter of faces being firmly set against any changes, it's a matter of wanting those with the smallest budgets with no leeway not to be so disadvantaged.

Not agreeing with you doesn’t we ‘clearly have learnt no money management skills and are completely infantilised’. It just means that we have the empathy and understanding to recognise that not everyone is in the same financial boat as ourselves.

By definition everyone on here is likely to be more able to manage than many - we are all paying for broadband and communication devices for a start - but the point of free prescriptions is that not everybody is in that position, and medication can be essential to life.

People with a lifetime of working and paying for everything behind them are not likely to be the issue, but even they might struggle when they are no longer working and don’t have the ability to pay. Health is too important to depend on access to money - or, indeed, to the ability to manage. Not everyone can manage, for a variety of reasons, and luckily that has been recognised by the system.

Sorry MOnica, but if I were to be told that I needed to take medications for life (as I was when I was first diagnosed with diabetes), I would really struggle to find £114.50 at the drop of a hat (and there are people worse off than I am). It's not that I can't manage, but I genuinely don't have much money, despite budgeting very carefully.

PS. That's why people in my position (and worse off) are eligible for HC2 certificates.

HC2 certificates should be more widely promoted.

The thread, however, is about whether prescriptions should be free at 60 or not until SPA. The fact that there is another thread running about the unsubstantiated rumour that they are under threat along with bus passes, and that is muddying the waters, I think.

I'm not sure that being over 60 is in itself a reason to get free prescriptions, but nor do I think that they should be means-tested for all the reasons I've stated. If we had easier access to doctors, and our healthcare could be better managed so that nobody could hoard medicine then savings could maybe be made, but as it is drugs do seem to be stockpiled and wasted when they are free.

I do understand people wanting to have a supply in reserve, as it can be days between a prescription being issued and being fulfilled, and people could be away or otherwise unable to collect them when they are ready. There is also the psychological need that some have to have supplies of things that they can't control (in this case non-OTC medicines), but reports suggest that large numbers of drugs are destroyed as people stockpile far too many. The trouble is that only a significant charge would mitigate that to any useful extent.

For those reasons it seems that charging is necessary, but to me, if it is necessary for some groups it is necessary for all - why would someone over 60, or someone on pension credit, or with an HC2 certificate be any less likely to hoard than someone who is not?

growstuf if you got a free season ticket for the first year and an increase on PC sufficient for you to save for it after year 1, you would be no worse off and would have saved the money you needed.

Well if they do away with free prescriptions for over 60s I'm well and truly stuffed. One of my meds that literally keep me alive and can only be dispensed at the hospital is £5,000 a month plus I am on other drugs to stop seizures so just been working out how many months I could afford, they would be giving me a death sentence.

They are most unlikely to get rid of free prescriptions, Tiley, but even if they did you wouldn't be charged £5000 a month. I think a full price prescription is £11. This is all scaremongering.

I hope you are right Doodledog because I am already beginning to worry.

Nobody has ever been asked to pay £5000 a month for an NHS prescription.

Yes when I look at it logically I agree with what you say. It's just when you are ill and old everything seems to get you down and worried

M0nica

growstuf if you got a free season ticket for the first year and an increase on PC sufficient for you to save for it after year 1, you would be no worse off and would have saved the money you needed.

But I'm not eligible for Pension Credit! My total income is £13 a week above the threshold.

Tiley

Yes when I look at it logically I agree with what you say. It's just when you are ill and old everything seems to get you down and worried

I understand. That is why the speculation is so cruel.

growstuff I keep saying that PC should rise to provide for these extra costs and you would probably then be entitled to this.

The alternaative is to keep paying the WFA, but make it refundable through the tax system. No one would repay any of it until their income exceeded £12, 570. They would then repay it at £20 for every £100, by the withdrawal of each £100 of taxable income. You would need to have an income in excess of £14, 070 before you repaid all of it. PC is currently £11,343.

Your income would be within the personal allowance, so you would not get the full WFA.

If adjustment must happen taxation feels less of a punitive approach.

M0nica

growstuff I keep saying that PC should rise to provide for these extra costs and you would probably then be entitled to this.

The alternaative is to keep paying the WFA, but make it refundable through the tax system. No one would repay any of it until their income exceeded £12, 570. They would then repay it at £20 for every £100, by the withdrawal of each £100 of taxable income. You would need to have an income in excess of £14, 070 before you repaid all of it. PC is currently £11,343.

Your income would be within the personal allowance, so you would not get the full WFA.

Do you mean that the threshold should rise or the amount which is paid because you haven't been clear?

In any case, it would still mean that there would be a cliff edge.

Additionally, my income does exceed £14,070 but I pay £850 a month rent. With your calculations, I would receive nothing. I already pay income tax (no complaints about that), but if I didn't receive partial housing benefit, my disposable income after housing costs would be less than £100 a week.

Deduct WFA (£6 a week), add £3 for prescriptions and my income would be reduced by almost 10%.

PS. OK! I confess! I haven't paid for prescriptions for over 30 years anyway because I'm diabetic, but I expect somebody would like to criticise that.

To be honest, it seems to be the Telegraph spreading the speculation. Given the demographic of its readership, I'm not surprised that it should pick on this issue.

And take away my bus pass and my income would be reduced by another few pounds a week.

growstuff

To be honest, it seems to be the Telegraph spreading the speculation. Given the demographic of its readership, I'm not surprised that it should pick on this issue.

Why is speculation wrong. Every paper speculated re Tory budgets, why should Labour be exempt. Its not only papers either, MSM have a go too. Labour have dug itself into a black hole, no pensioner is going to trust them, when they say they won't, but then they do.

Freya5

growstuff

To be honest, it seems to be the Telegraph spreading the speculation. Given the demographic of its readership, I'm not surprised that it should pick on this issue.

Why is speculation wrong. Every paper speculated re Tory budgets, why should Labour be exempt. Its not only papers either, MSM have a go too. Labour have dug itself into a black hole, no pensioner is going to trust them, when they say they won't, but then they do.

Who said it's wrong? People can believe what they want and get in a pickle about whatever they read.

How has Labour (AKA the government) dug itself into a black hole? It really hasn't had time to do that, although to be fair, Liz Truss managed to crash the economy faster. This government has inherited a 'black hole' from the previous one, and whilst its strategy for getting us all out of it may not be popular with everyone, there is no reason for panic, as the budget, whatever it may hold, is not until 30 October.

It is clearly wrong to suggest that 'no pensioner will trust them', as many on here are perfectly able to differentiate between rumour, speculation and reality.

I hope the prescription and bus passes are just rumours, the prescriptions help me and my partner uses the freedom pass on trains and buses. It does help us financially.
The people who will feel the financial strain the most are not the PC or the wealthy pensioners, but the ones on the new state pension who are just over or people like me on the new state pension plus a occ pen. I am not a poor pensioner but not wealthy either and wfa, plus the two things spoken above really help.
I really resent anyone who says we csn manage. I don't just want to manage I want to enjoy the time I am a pensioner, I have earned it.
I used the wfa for what it was meant for and it helped.

I agree, rafichagran. I never understand how people can think they know what others can afford. Restricting help (of any kind) to those on benefits on the grounds that everyone else can afford to pay removes any incentive to be self-sufficient. That is not to say that help shouldn’t go to the poor, but neither should means-testing drag those with a bit more into poverty.