Perscription Charges

lazicat

Im finding it difficult to afford all my meds each month as my GP seems to just give a months worth at a time.
I'm a housewife with no income of my own , I get DLA at the moment but expect that will stop soon & dont know how Im going to manage when it does. I have never claimed any type of benefit before.
My husband works but his income is much lower than it used to be due to the current climate , he's an estate agent.
I feel such a burden to him.
I dont think Ive got much to offer an employer at the moment as get so tired due to constant OA pain & poor mobility.
How do others cope with cost of medication ?

villier

Hi Lazicat

I am afraid I can only sypathise with you, living in Scotland I am lucky I get all my meds free, if I didn't I would like yourself struggle to pay for them as I don't work and am on my own, could you maybe speak to your GP and ask if he would prescribe maybe two months at a time it may be worth a try, keeping fingers crossed you get it sorted out.............Marie x

tillytop

Hello Lazicat

I know that prescriptions can be expensive and the cost of meds can be a worry. Prescribing meds a month at a time seems to be pretty common these days - and for some meds I don't think the GPs are actually allowed to prescribe more than that in one go - but, as Vilier says, it might be worth asking your GP if he is able to prescribe more than one month's worth for some of your meds.

Depending on your circumstances you may be entitled to help with your prescription costs and I have put a link at the bottom of this post to the NHS website about this.

If not, do you know about Prescription Pre-Payment Certificates (PPCs)? If you need more than 4 items in three months, or more than 14 (15?) items in 12 months, then buying a PPC can save you a lot of money. The link gives information about this too. By buying an annual PPC I save more than £650 per year so it can be well worth it if you need a lot of meds.

Really hope you can get some help - it's then one less thing you have to think about.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx

Tilly xxx

valval

i pre pay get a three month one then get as many prescriptions in as can one at start and make sure one day before it runs out then leave it a month and get next when meds are due you can do it on line or phone them and tell them date you want it to start good luck val

paulch

:x Yes its so unfair we have to pay for perscriptions in england, according to the local mp he says 70% of peeps get free anyway , well that does not include me. I get the yearly percription card which works out good ( they did not put up the price of this )

dreamdaisy

Someone has to pay, not only for theirs but also for everyone who gets theirs free. Meds are expensive and prescription charges bear no relation to the true cost of the drugs. I pay £10.40 per month via DD and although my income isn't much it's worth spending that on my yearly pre-payment as it does save me a huge amount of money. I used to do mine three monthly because if I worked things right I could miss a month and save a little more but I became too tired to juggle everything. :roll:

The pre-payment scheme is a well-kept secret, isn't it? There are leaflets about it in my chemist but they hardly 'hit the eye' when you walk in. DD

Soretoe2

My hubby and I get three months at a time from our gp but we do not need to pay for ours due to age and medical conditions.
Have you actually asked your gp if you could have at least two months at a time, or just accepted that is what your practice does? You may be pleasantly surprised if you do.
Everyone has given you good advice on some ideas for you to reduce your costs.
I'm so sad for you that you feel a burden to your husband. I'm also sure you are not. I used to feel that way but my husband told me one day that he married me for better or worse, we just seem to have more of the worse bit but he still wouldn't change a thing. We live on a very small income too so I understand how hard it is.
I hope you can find a solution soon. Take care of yourself, Joy

wall1409

Pre payment is the best way as they often swap and change meds anyway. I find it easier to spread the cost over the year.

Wendy

janjankay58

Have you tried for a HC2 this would give you free prescriptions free glasses and dentist treatment it's for people on low money give it a go!

jan

lazicat

Thats great info. I had no idea prepayment was available, will look into that as Im sure it will be a big help & speak to my GP as well. Afterall I cant imagine being off meds anytime soon !
Thanks everyone, Ive never claimed anything before.

scribbler

I thought that anyone with a recurring and persistent condition eg epilepsy, diabetes etc got their prescription medication free. I thought the same applied to children, pregnant women and pensioners. But the government may have altered the regs while I wasn't looking.

dreamdaisy

Children, pregnant women and those of pensionable years get their meds for free. Those of paying age with cancer, diabetes and perhaps epilepsy (I don't know) also get their meds for free (ALL meds, not just the ones related to their condition) but for those of us of paying age who only have arthritis well, we can dream on. They qualify as their illnesses are life-threatening but arthritis isn't, it just destroys the quality of life. Some have to pay for those who don't. DD

Christimay

Hi, I get my prescriptions for free, not just because I stay in Scotland, I have under active thyroid and am on 200 mg it's not life threatening but it causes other immune disorders such as RA, raynuds vitiligo, the thyroid also causes very dry skin and constipation and weight gain which can be helped once you get the right dose of thyroxine I also get iron and vitamin d as my blood count is always low, have had 3 blood transfusions so far, but can never seem to work a good balance with the thyroxine.

dibdab

The prepayment scheme is fantastic, it saves me a fortune over a year, and I must admit it was our local pharmacist who suggested it to me-but he's wonderful, so helpful and informative I'd like to give him public recognition!

To add a bit of context to the discussion maybe it's also interesting to know that many of the drugs we take for our various arthritic conditions would cost hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year if we had to pay anything like the full cost, we are so lucky here in Britain with our health service. I was bemoaning the cost of prescriptions when my son who's a doctor showed me the prices of just a few of the drugs I take, it made me shudder to realise how expensive they were.

Deb

villier

We are lucky Deb with our health service, I know that some of the oral meds I take are expensive, I also get intravenous treatment every three weeks and that costs about £2,500 a time I dread to think what we would all be like if we had to pay full whack for our meds xx

scribbler

"Someone has to pay, not only for theirs but also for everyone who gets theirs free."
I don't consider the people who pay prescription charges as subsidising those of us who them free. My own take on it its this: in a fair and well-manged society some services should be funded from general taxation and not just charged to the people who use them. Examples: education, health services, highways, libraries, plenty more but I can't think of them.

Someone who never needs to see a doctor or visit a hospital still pays towards the NHS through income tax. My own feeling is that prescription charges should probably be centrally funded and so should bus services - ie everyone gets a bus pass, not just pensioners. I know this will never happen, the car lobby is too powerful. But I can dream. End of Rant!

fowls48

Hi Lazycat

I have a prepay presciption , i purchased mine for the year , i had to go without for the rest of the month , but it was a worry for me not knowing if i could afford to purchase my meds or not .It does help though and gives piece of mind .Good luck

Fowls xx