NHS prescription charges will be frozen for the first time in 12
years to help with the cost of living.
Charges usually increase in line with average inflation. This
year - in a move not seen for over a decade - the cost for
prescriptions will remain the same to help ease cost of living
pressures and ensure prescription medication remains accessible.
This means people in England who pay prescription charges are
saving £17 million overall. Charges for prescriptions will remain
at £9.35 for a single charge or £30.25 for a 3-month prescription
prepayment certificate (PPCs). 12 month PPCs will remain at
£108.10 and can be paid for in instalments, meaning people can
get all the medicines they need for just over £2 a week.
In addition to the freeze on charges, the NHS Low Income scheme
offers help with prescription payments, with free prescriptions
for eligible people within certain groups such as pensioners,
students, and those who receive state benefits or live in care
homes.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
“The rise in the cost of living has been unavoidable as we face
global challenges and the repercussions of Putin’s illegal war in
Ukraine. Whilst we can’t completely prevent these rises, where we
can help - we absolutely will.
“This is why I am freezing prescription charges to help ease some
of these pressures and put money back in people’s pockets.”
The government and NHS is working to tackle the covid backlogs
while reforming routine care services, ending long waits and
improving patient care. The pandemic has put huge pressure on
health and care services and over the next three years, a record
£39 billion will be invested through the Health and Care Levy, so
the NHS has the funding it needs. The NHS is opening new surgical
hubs and 160 community diagnostic centres so patients have easier
access to tests closer to home - with 88 already open, delivering
over 800,000 scans.
In addition, the Health and Care Bill received Royal Assent last
month, enacting the most significant health legislation in a
decade into law. It marks an important step in the government’s
ambitious health and care agenda, setting up systems and
structures to reform how health and adult social care work
together, tackle long waiting lists built up during the pandemic,
and address some of the long-term challenges faced by the country
including a growing and ageing population, chronic conditions and
inequalities in health outcomes.
The government is listening to people’s concerns and targeting
support at the lowest paid in society, with measures worth over
£22 billion in 2022-23 to help with the cost of energy bills and
to ensure people keep more of their money. This includes
raising the threshold at which people start to pay National
Insurance to £12,570, providing a £330 a year tax cut to 30
million workers in July. The National Living Wage has risen to
£9.50 per hour – an extra £1,000 a year for a full-time worker,
and taxes have been cut for the lowest paid workers on Universal
Credit – so they can keep more of what they earn.
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
The prescription freeze will also apply to NHS wigs and fabric
supports; these prices will remain at current levels:
- Surgical brassiere £30.70
- Abdominal or spinal support £46.30
- Stock modacrylic wig £75.70
- Partial human hair wig £200.50
- Full bespoke human hair wig £293.20
You are exempt from charges if 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.
Further support for NHS health costs can be found here.
