Prescription costs are barrier to health says Citizens Advice
| Published: 29th February 2008 15:15 |
The charity warns that not being able to afford prescription charges means many poorer people with chronic health problems are not getting the treatment they need and are putting their health at risk.
Citizens Advice is calling on the Department of Health to stop stalling and carry out the review of prescription charging in England, first recommended by the Health Select Committee over 18 months ago. The longer the government fails to look into the issue, says Citizens Advice, the more people in England are going without prescriptions they need. This latest figure shows there has been no improvement since 2001 when Ipsos MORI carried out a similar survey for the charity.
Citizens Advice adds that the situation will only get worse when the Employment Support Allowance replaces Incapacity Benefit for new claimants from October this year as this will result in more people on low incomes and in poor health also losing automatic entitlement to free prescriptions.
Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker said:
"We first raised this problem in 2001, yet seven years later the number of people failing to cash a prescription because they can't afford it has remained unchanged.
"And although the Government says it recognises the links between poverty and ill health, the Department of Health's extraordinary delay in starting the consulting process has resulted in hundreds of thousands of people not being able to afford the treatments they need. Progress in Wales and Scotland has raised the stakes. It is simply unacceptable that people are still failing to collect prescriptions because they can't afford it. It is essential that there is now urgent action to finally eliminate prescription poverty in England."
The Health Select Committee first recommended that a review be undertaken in July 2006, but the Department took a further year before announcing in July 2007 that it would consult on reform "in the autumn".
Case studies
A CAB in Hampshire saw a man who was receiving long term medication. He was on a low income with learning difficulties and unable to read. He was told that he was exempt from charges but then received a prescription penalty charge notice for £79.80 and then a final action letter for £113.05. The man only had limited payment options but was told he had to pay outstanding fines.
A CAB saw a single man who had been receiving Incapacity Benefit (IB) for over 4 years. In the first two years he was eligible for free prescriptions. After two years he was no longer entitled for free prescriptions because his income exceeded the allowed excess of half the current cost of a prescription, £3.43. His prescription cost was £13.70 per month and he was worried about the cost of the new medicines which his doctor might prescribe.
A CAB in Hertfordshire saw a woman under 25 who was in receipt of incapacity benefit and disability living allowance. She needed at least two prescriptions per fortnight, but because of her age and circumstances she was not entitled to help with prescription costs. She could not afford to pay for a pre-payment certificate in one go.
