MANY Brits will have to make “unbearable” decisions after a prescription price hike is enforced next month.
Charges for prescriptions will increase by 2.59 per cent as of May 1, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced.
This means a single prescription will cost £9.90, up from its current price of £9.65.
Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) will also be affected by the price hike.
A three-month PPC will cost Brits £32.05 from next month onwards, up from £31.25.
The cost of a 12-month PPC will rise by £2.90 to £114.50, while a hormone replacement therapy PPC will cost £19.80 instead of £19.30.
Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England – which handles negotiations about pharmacy services and funding with the government – said the added expense would be “bad news” for many Brits.
“As the cost of living continues to put strain on the most vulnerable in society, many patients will have to make unbearable decisions about which medicines they can afford to pay for.”
“We remain opposed to the charge,” Ms Morrison went on, calling it a “tax on the vulnerable”.
The change comes after amendments to the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) were laid before parliament on April 3, setting out new charges for NHS prescriptions in England.
The government also increased prescription charges in April 2023, having frozen them at £9.35 per item the year before to help Brits cope with the cost of living crisis.
Other items affected by the May price hike include NHS surgical bras, as well as acrylic and human hair wigs.
Many people are exempt from prescription charges namely over 60s, under 16s and those with certain health condition.
England is the only country in the UK that still charges for prescription meds.
Meanwhile Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland scrapped the charges more than a decade ago.
Find out if you can pay less for prescription or if you can even get them for free.
Who is exempt from prescription charges?
You can get free NHS prescriptions if, at the time the prescription is dispensed, you:
- Are 60 or over
- Are under 16
- Are 16 to 18 and in full-time education
- Are pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months and have a valid maternity exemption certificate (MatEx)
- Have a specified medical condition and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
- Have a continuing physical disability that prevents you going out without help from another person and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
- Hold a valid war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disability
- Are an NHS inpatient
Medical exemption certificates are issued if you have:
- Cancer, including the effects of cancer or the effects of current or previous cancer treatment
- A permanent fistula (for example, a laryngostomy, colostomy, ileostomy or some renal dialysis fistulas) requiring continuous surgical dressing or an appliance
- A form of hypoadrenalism (for example, Addison’s disease)
- Diabetes insipidus or other forms of hypopituitarism
- diabetes mellitus, except where treatment is by diet alone
- Hypoparathyroidism
- Myasthenia gravis
- Myxoedema (hypothyroidism requiring thyroid hormone replacement)
- Epilepsy requiring continuous anticonvulsive therapy
- A continuing physical disability that means you cannot go out without the help of another person (temporary disabilities do not count, even if they last for several months)
You’re also entitled to free prescriptions if you or your partner (including civil partner) receive, or you’re under the age of 20 and the dependant of someone receiving various income support.
Read more about who can get free NHS prescriptions.