NHS Drug Prices

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pabenny
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by pabenny » Mon Jul 05 2021 9:53am

Agree that the list of chronic conditions that exempt patients from prescription charges should be reviewed - although the likely consequence is more exemptions and I don't suppose the Treasury would be keen on that.

Agree too that the state is too generous towards prosperous pensioners. Even that is difficult, though. Withdrawing means-tested benefits leads to steep marginal 'tax' rates. In other words, every extra £100 of income can mean that you are £60, £70 worse off because of losing welfare provision. In extreme cases you actually be worse off with more income.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by Chadwick » Mon Jul 05 2021 10:34am

pabenny wrote:
Sun Jul 04 2021 1:29pm
How about coming at the question another way. If you don't like this proposal, how else would you raise the £300m annually for NHS. You have to be specific - merely saying reduce waste or raise taxes on the rich is too vague.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by macliam » Mon Jul 05 2021 10:48am

pabenny wrote:
Mon Jul 05 2021 8:34am
With respect, that's just deflection by criticising the messenger. Incompetence and cronyism have undoubtedly been part of this government's response to Covid. But that is largely irrelevant to harmonising the qualifying date for age-related benefits.
With respect, this is just playing into the populists divisive agenda..... "harmonising" benefits had already had a huge cost..... but not to the rich and powerful or their friends. The NHS funds now many things it didn't at the outset - many of which seem elective - but I trust the clinicians to decide where the money is best spent. I don't trust policians who have wasted vast sums by tinkering with the NHS for political reasons.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by expressman33 » Mon Jul 05 2021 11:37am

Sarah wrote:
Sun Jul 04 2021 1:09pm
expressman33 wrote:
Sun Jul 04 2021 12:51pm
I have been getting regular medication since I was about 50 , until I was 60 I managed to make 2 x 3 monthly PPC's get enough medication for over a year.
I can usually get by on 2-to-3 certificates per year by playing that game. It somewhat depends how much your GP is willing to push the limits for the qty of each medication on a prescription. They won't exceed 56 days for one of my medications and another is limited to 60 days. I'm not age 50 yet but have still been looking forward to receiving free prescriptions for a long time already!
I used to ask for repeats a few days before they were due and built up a stock of prescriptions ready to use as soon as I got my next PPC ( a presciption is valid for 6 months and as long as you have a PPC for the date you take it to the chemist you are OK )
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Sarah
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by Sarah » Mon Jul 05 2021 12:17pm

Yes, I request the first script 3 weeks before I plan to buy a PPC, which allows some time for stock shortages and generally makes it possible to achieve 3 iterations for each certificate.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by pabenny » Mon Jul 05 2021 1:25pm

We know the Leavers' £350m was a lie. And because it was a lie the money doesn't exist and won't exist.
macliam wrote:
Mon Jul 05 2021 10:48am
With respect, this is just playing into the populists divisive agenda..... "harmonising" benefits had already had a huge cost..... but not to the rich and powerful or their friends. The NHS funds now many things it didn't at the outset - many of which seem elective - but I trust the clinicians to decide where the money is best spent. I don't trust policians who have wasted vast sums by tinkering with the NHS for political reasons.
Not sure I see your point. Asking those over 60 to contribute a flat rate to the cost of their medications is surely about raising money not about spending it.

When I reach 60, I anticipate that I will still be earning (as will the majority of people the same age). Why should passing that age mean I no longer have to contribute to the cost of any medication I require. Or for that matter, why I should I also be entitled to concessionary rates on public transport?
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by macliam » Mon Jul 05 2021 2:12pm

pabenny wrote:
Mon Jul 05 2021 1:25pm
We know the Leavers' £350m was a lie. And because it was a lie the money doesn't exist and won't exist.
macliam wrote:
Mon Jul 05 2021 10:48am
With respect, this is just playing into the populists divisive agenda..... "harmonising" benefits had already had a huge cost..... but not to the rich and powerful or their friends. The NHS funds now many things it didn't at the outset - many of which seem elective - but I trust the clinicians to decide where the money is best spent. I don't trust policians who have wasted vast sums by tinkering with the NHS for political reasons.
Not sure I see your point. Asking those over 60 to contribute a flat rate to the cost of their medications is surely about raising money not about spending it.

When I reach 60, I anticipate that I will still be earning (as will the majority of people the same age). Why should passing that age mean I no longer have to contribute to the cost of any medication I require. Or for that matter, why I should I also be entitled to concessionary rates on public transport?
Anything spent out of the Health budget is spending..... only England chooses to charge for prescriptions and now it is proposed to extend the range of those charged. The same argument about spending for prescriptions or other health benefits could be made about Education or any other part of the social welfare programme...... e.g. why should a single person pay to educate someone else's kids? Maybe the Tories might start by "harmonising" the free transport offered to those in London, as everyone else has to wait longer to get less...... or might that be politically unacceptable? Why not charge private hospitals for the "backup" provided by the NHS when they screw up and for using staff who have been trained at public expense? Why is it always a cut to established benefits..... because it's "easier" to hit those who can't hit back?
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pabenny
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by pabenny » Mon Jul 05 2021 2:34pm

At this risk that this might sound like arguing about semantics...
- The UK chose to charge for prescriptions (in 1968) and the devolved nations have recently chosen to reverse that. It's not quite that England has chosen to charge.
- Likewise I would still argue that the prescription charge is about revenue generation. It's a flat fee per item. It's not a spending decision (although of course revenue and spending are different sides of the same coin for government).

I would agree that 60-68 year old Londoners should not receive free travel. The government doesn't directly control but could impose that on TfL.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by macliam » Mon Jul 05 2021 8:48pm

If the best form of revenue raising you can think of is to charge people for being sick, then I query the fiscal base of your economy.

As the USA has shown us, there is a gaping hole in the revenue raised on wealth accumulation as opposed to income. Hence the super-rich get richer and richer whilst paying little tax on the increase in wealth generated by being so wealthy in the first place.....

But, of course, no government is going to meddle there, the rich are entitled whereas the rear of us are just cash cows.
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pabenny
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by pabenny » Tue Jul 06 2021 6:28am

macliam wrote:
Mon Jul 05 2021 8:48pm
.. charge people for being sick...
That sort of emotive phrasing is unhelpful to any serious debate.

As for wealth taxes, maybe they should be brought in. Although the wealthiest find it easiest to sequester their wealth in places out of reach. (That's not a reason against but it is a wrinkle that would need to be addressed).
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