NHS Pre-payment certificate

[anne2009]

Hiya

I have a NHS card (pre payment cert for prescriptions) as I had a back injury and it was costing loads for prescriptions. I would NEVER stop paying for a certificate now, as it really has saved me money.

I have my op soon and I know I'm going to need medication / vitamins, so the certificate will come in handy there.

I pay for mine yearly.

Hugs
ANNE xxx

 

[Rising_Sun]

After reading this thread, I enquired about a PPC when I collected my 3 months supply of calcichew, iron and forceval (3 items charged at £21.60) and the 3 month PPC worked out more expensive (£28). If I stay on these three items only then the 12 month PPC is apparently also not worthwhile as I will have only 12 items in a year as opposed to the minimum 14 items needed to make it worthwhile. Info as explained to me by Pharmacy. Ended up paying the script charge.

 

[teen]

thats good if your doctor will give you 3 months supply at a time

 

[phatmomma]

Being diabetic I qualify for free prescriptions anyway

I wonder what will happen after my op, as many diabetics are "cured" in time?

What is the age that one becomes entitled to free prescriptions?

I too am diabetic but never claimed the certificate as i get free prescriptions because i get working tax credit.

However as much as we will never have to take medicine (if were lucky) following our operations there is no cure for diabetes. We will still be class as 'diabetic', we just wont be popping pills......

Whooo hoooo cos i keep forgetting my evening one xxx

 

[Glenville]

However as much as we will never have to take medicine (if were lucky) following our operations there is no cure for diabetes. We will still be class as 'diabetic', we just wont be popping pills......

I would be happy to just stop the 4 injections a day and ditch the OSA mask

 

[Brunetteandred]

Hi All

I'm probably a little late in the day thinking about this tbh, but Im undecided whether its going to be better for me to buy a pre payment certificate at £28 for 3 months, rather than paying for individual prescriptions at £7.20 each. There is an annual certificate as well, but Ive forgotten the cost. Think its about £110.

Now I can work out that any more than 4 prescriptions in 3 months means I would be better off with the certificate - but how many prescriptions do you WLS peeps have.

Did you buy a certificate and has it saved you money?

Sam, my GP has just advised me to get one. I am currently taking Forceval, Iron tablets 3 times a day, Adcal & now selenium, she said it's going to be worth it even if I only at for a month and get a script at the beginning and one at the end.

I've just ordered an annual one by DD. 10 months x £10.04

 

[thinkbethin]

Sam I'd advise getting the cert incase you need the vits on prescription and the hair loss treatment that I've heard many bypassers on about. I hope you don't need them but there is every chance you will sweetheart.xx

 

[swizzlestick]

Hi Sam

I get the prepayment cert, I buy it quaterly. Even though it is an auto immune condition I have, unlike diabeties or thyroid, which exempts you from having to pay, I have to pay full whack for all my meds even though I do not work.

I have 6 lots of prescriptions minimum each month(over £40 per month). I do resent that I have to pay for my meds, all because the prescriptions authority STILL haven't got their act together and updated their list of exempt conditions.

We get child and working tax credits in our house too but in order to qualify for free prescriptions and dental treatment your household income excluding tax credits has to be less than aprox £14,000 p.a.

I am in the process fo applying for what is called something like, low income assistance, the last time I had this it said that I had to pay for all scripts and up to the first £400 each year toward dental treatment. It was hardly worth the bother of filling out the forms. However, due to all the root canal work I have had done at the dental hospital, I am now in need of at least 2 new crowns and a bridge which comes to about £600, so if I receive the same award I shall save myself a third of the dental costs this year!

Rising-Sun, I used to ask my gp to write out a 3 month prescription for each item like you do, he used to be more than happy to do so but the prescriptions authority do not let our surgery do that anymore, they have to be monthly ones. They give me 6 months worth of scripts now for each of the 6 meds but each script has only one month worth on it. So a wadge of 36 prescriptions are handed to me every 6 months, tis ridiculous.

Teen, unfortunately, not all people on tax credits qualify for free scripts and dental/ eye treatment. there is a threshold. It is very unfair because the mere fact that a household qualifies for tax credits is in itself indicative of low income and therefore should in fairness exempt all receipients from nhs costs.

 

[swizzlestick]

Just found this

"WORKING FAMILIES TAX CREDIT or DISABLED PERSONS TAX CREDIT
If you are registered for Health Service treatment and you or your partner hold a current Tax Credit NHS exemption certificate from your entitlement to Working Families Tax Credit or Disabled Person's Tax Credit, you do not have to pay for your NHS dental treatment."

(health and social care central service website.)

The tax credit office send the nhs exemption cert to those who qualify for it. I had assumed that you automatically qualified for it and just having a tax credit award notice was the evidence you had to give to the dentist or chemist. Unfortunately I was wrong :cry:

 

[katstofat]

you get free perscriptions at 60 but as they are messing about with the pension and you don get it right after your birthday anymore i dont know how it will afect things like perscriptions

 

[Sambucca]

Thanks again for all the replies everyone. Its first on my to do list today to get one.