Pensions ,Prescriptions & Racheal Reeve’s

Irrespective of free prescriptions or not, I do think it would be good for all to know how much their medication costs. Some people have no idea, and there is a lot which is wasted.

The thing that will most impact is surely fuel prices? The average price of fuel is currently less than it was last year, and is predicted to fall again in January, which will reduce everybody’s bills. Therefore the impact of losing the WFA for most pensioners will not be as great as it could be otherwise. Of course it could go up again, but currently it’s a mitigation.

£2 a week?

In principle I agree, but what would you do about people with no money in older age? Or at any age, really.

We can’t cut off healthcare, but why should some pay and not others? There is already a feeling that it’s not worth making an effort as doing so prices you out of getting means-tested benefits, and that would be worse if we had to pay for healthcare or if workers had to pay NI and non-workers got it free.

NI and its link to work is wrong - it puts all the responsibility onto workers and lets others opt out. There should be a universal tax for able-bodied adults, with exceptions only for people who unable to pay, as opposed to choosing not to work and opting out that way. I still don’t know what we (as a society) do about people who still believe they have a right not to contribute though. Apart from the humanitarian issues, universal healthcare benefits everyone - having sick people puts a strain on everything.

I’m pleased I don’t have to make decisions like that - whatever you do is going to upset someone.

Gin

The health service has to be paid for. The money does not fly out of the trees. Everyone is fighting for their own corner and the big picture is lost. Everyone has a reason for their access to funds and services remain but that is not possible. Costs have sky rocketed and numbers increased. How do they decide who is the fairest hit? Whatever is decided it will be wrong in someone’s eyes.
In many European countries you until death continue to pay the equivalent of NI contributions and pay towards medication. Changes have to come, surely people can see this whatever their political leaning is.

Most on this site are very entitled and think they have the right to free everything and someone else will pay. There are very very few who accept that it all has to be paid for, the outrage in posts about WFA being restricted by £2 a week, when the pension has increased by £7

The health service has to be paid for. The money does not fly out of the trees. Everyone is fighting for their own corner and the big picture is lost. Everyone has a reason for their access to funds and services remain but that is not possible. Costs have sky rocketed and numbers increased. How do they decide who is the fairest hit? Whatever is decided it will be wrong in someone’s eyes.
In many European countries you until death continue to pay the equivalent of NI contributions and pay towards medication. Changes have to come, surely people can see this whatever their political leaning is.

I’d forgotten, as well as the usual medications for asthma, there are the courses of steroids. Antibiotics too of course, but I need those infrequently, I’m more likely to need steroids.

Maybe you’re asthmatic too MissA
Perhaps you should have a chat with your doctor about it.

I agree, asthma attack, like trying to breathe through a tiny, narrow straw.

I'll bet it was.
I have odd times of not being able to breathe properly, though I have no idea why, and it really is awful, though I appreciate it can't be that bad.

It sure felt bad to me!

I was diagnosed as asthmatic at five years old, been hospitalised too many times, lucky to be here, extremely grateful to ambulance and hospital staff.

Two inhalers, two daily tablets, along with frequent antibiotics and steroids. Reaching free prescription age was very much appreciated, in more ways than one.

I know it was something my mum had to budget for, and she said the same thing, that it was terrifying; like trying to breathe through a pinhole.

Another asthmatic here. I can't understand the reasoning either, but I suspect it's because there are so many of us.

I hate to think of people being unable to afford inhalers - an asthma attack is terrifying.

My mum's asthma medications were quite an outlay for her, and I could never understand why she wasn't exempt.

Asthmatics don’t get free prescriptions despite needing medication just to be able to breathe

I have four different medications prescribed to treat my asthma. They only became free when I turned sixty. Previous to that I did buy the ‘season ticket.’ Some people can’t afford the outlay though. I was never able to understand the reasoning that made meditation free for some lifelong conditions, whilst excluding asthma, which kills three people each day in the UK.

Same for me.
If I can buy stuff, I do, but unfortunately need lots and lots of meds that aren't available to buy.

So someone above finds it hard to believe a person over sixty could be on a lot of prescriptions because they are seventy and well themselves I'm on alot but would never have requested paracetomal I can buy that thanks very cheaply I very rarely go to the doctors I'm not some soppy person looking to be ill but life happens and some older people need a lot of prescriptiond

theworriedwell

I haven't paid for prescriptions since my underactive thyroid was diagnosed, a perk of having the condition. I just looked up how much a season ticket costs and it is under £10 a month if you buy a 12 month ticket, if you are on 8 items a month that is a real bargain.

And that's something that is inherently unfair. Your thyroid medication could be provided free on its own individual prescription, leaving you to pay for anything else. It's a mystery how they decide why some lifelong conditions qualify for this "perk" and not others. Asthmatics don't get free prescriptions despite needing medication just to be able to breathe.
As for the season ticket, it's all well and good quoting a 'per month' cost, but you can't pay monthly, you need to be able to afford the lump sum up front, not evrybody can manage that.

WelwynWitch3

NotSpaghetti

I never understood why prescriptions are free at 60.
Why?

Wales and Scotland have free prescriptions for all which we in England fund via the Barnet system!

No, you in England don’t fund free prescriptions in the other nations WelwynWitch3, they each have the discretion to use their global allocation for health in the way they think best meets the needs of their population, just as the English do. The Barnett formula is a convention, it can be changed by any government.

Well yes. I know. And someone else has already made that point.

Wales and Scotland are just making different choices WelwynWitch3

I still don't understand why in England we get them free from age 60.

NotSpaghetti

I never understood why prescriptions are free at 60.
Why?

Wales and Scotland have free prescriptions for all which we in England fund via the Barnet system!

Lemontart
I completely agree.

And I love lemon tart and lemon drizzle cake anything lemony really 🍰🍰🍰

For example BJ had a private room Covid wise, but I think everyone understood you couldn't have security officers in an ICU unit or a ward?

This is not trying to excuse anything, but there are genuine security issues at stake.

Would KS have to wait 6 weeks to see a GP? Well, not in my practice nor many others, its a postcode lottery.

Don't you believe it. ALL Members of Parliament get VIP treatment across the road from Westminster at St. Thomas' (Tommy's). They are given private rooms and swift access to doctors, I know this for a fact.
Do you really think KS will hang on the end of his telephone for 40 minutes to get a doctor's appointment in 6 weeks time?
It might not be "private" medical care, but it certainly isn't the usual NHS care. KS can say what he likes to sound like the rest of us, but that clearly isn't the case.

Lisaangel10

theworriedwell

Doodledog

Well yes. Isn’t that obvious? Medicine and medical research are expensive. This is why it makes sense for us all to ‘club together’ and pay for it collectively, with treatment based on clinical need. When people start to break away from that model and want preferential treatment based on ability to pay, they soon find out that being on the wrong side of a profit-based system isn’t fun.

I agree and I think if King Charles, Boris Johnson and anyone with money/influence had to join the queue with everyone else they'd soon make sure things improved.

Keir Starmer.

He's already said he won't use private medical care hasn't he? Good, he can work on making things better. Pity Boris, Liz, Rishi didn't do the same.

I cant believe people are complaining about free prescriptions!!!