England voted comfortably to make prescriptions free, but the best-received argument came from the losing side, and it was oddly pitched: a No voter who wanted the other nations dragged into paying. “It's not fair that England is basically subsidising the other nations,” ran the most-respected No case, which kept existing exemptions and urged staff to point patients to cheaper shelf products.
The most-respected Yes case was angrier and more personal. It called the charge “an outrageous state of affairs”, arguing that working, taxed people are the ones who need keeping healthy. Others made the fairness point in different terms: one called the charge “horribly regressive”, another said it was “a financial penalty for something outside of their control”.
No voters mostly argued money and mechanics. “Free doesn’t exist, it’s just paid for by someone else,” said one, while another was weary of borrowing and interest costs. A well-respected No voice wanted the flat fee scrapped for tiered pricing, a point no Yes voter took up. Yes voters in turn conceded ground: several said paracetamol should be bought over the counter, not prescribed.
That shared ground is the story. Both camps worried about cheap items on prescription, and both pointed north and west, one side to Scotland and Wales as proof, another to the Barnett formula as the hidden bill.
In the end the argument was less about whether the charge is fair than about who ends up paying for free.
72 Opinions
NO.... BUT the rest of the UK should also pay for prescriptions. It's not fair that England is basically subsidising the other nations. There should obviously be exceptions (that are already legislated for & in place) to the rules. However medical staff should be saying to patients, you don't need a prescription for this product, you can buy it cheaper yourself on the supermarket shelf. Edited
But remove the flat fee. Being made to pay £9.90 for one or two emergency pills is ridiculous. I would be in favour of tiered fees for prescriptions so they are roughly in line with what you’re actually paying for while keeping current exemptions in place.
Yes, it should be free. For those with chronic ill health, having to pay for a prescription is a financial penalty for something outside of their control.
It's shameful that taxpayers have to pay for prescriptions. It's not unknown for someone who is working to have to choose what medication they can afford, and these are people who are paying into the system and producing. This is an outrageous state of affairs. Savings can be made elsewhere in the NHS, but working, taxed people are the sector of society who need to be kept healthy, but they are the sector who really don't have treatment that's free at the point of care.
No. There are exemptions in place for: under 16s, 16–18s in education, or those 60+. Medical: Valid MedEx (specific conditions or severe physical disability). Income: Low income or qualifying state benefits. Maternity: Pregnant or gave birth in the past year. Rather than a blanket free-to-all, I'd rather see money invested into state-owned pharmacies, as it's become harder to collect medication as so many have closed their doors.
Under 16 free, everyone else £5 per prescription. Items cheaper than that ie aspirin,pain killers, cough medication, should be removed from prescription. Long term medication could purchase quarterly, yearly option at cheaper price.
I get free prescriptions because I have a listed condition but the medication I need cost €2 over-the-counter in Europe… I also got fined when I forgot to renew . I expect the savings in administration would’ve would mitigate quite a lot of the extra cost. And also allowing more medication to be sold over-the-counter what would help.
Yes prescriptions should be free within reason people should not be getting paracetamol on prescription when its 35p in the supermarket but inhalers, insulin etc should be free
No, prescriptions should be paid for by everyone. The people that work for a living shouldn't be paying £11.40 for the NHS to give a grifter a 16p packet of aspirin.
Yes. And all purchasing centralised for bulk discounts.