Martin Lewis MSE £41 warning to 872,000 people who pay for NHS prescriptions
Money-saving guru Martin Lewis' MSE site has urged Brits to check whether they'll be better off applying for prepayment certificate - instead of paying £9.90 for each individual NHS prescription
They say health is wealth - but more than half a million of Brits are overpaying for their treatments. Last month, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed NHS prescription charges in England will be frozen for the first time in three years, remaining at £9.90 for a single charge.
While these fee might not seem a lot for someone who might need a course of antibiotics once every couple of years, it can add up for those with repeat prescriptions. For example, collecting a prescription up every month works out at a whopping £118.80 for those living in England (the rest of the UK gets it for free!).
Finance experts over at Martin Lewis ' MSE, have warned that 872,000 patients in England overpaid for medical prescriptions in 2023-24 by not applying for a prepayment certificate. The NHS states that £35 million could have been saved if everyone had moved to the initiative, with average savings of £41 per person.
"It's a bit like a prescription season ticket and can mean big savings," MSE stated. "Yet many don't take advantage and end up overpaying unnecessarily. As a rule of thumb, prepayment certificates win for people using at least one prescription a month over a long period."
A three-month prepayment certificate costs £32.05, while a 12-month prepayment certificate has been frozen at £114.50. If you claim two prescriptions each month (every fortnight roughly) for a full year - you will have saved more than £100 compared to paying for each individual prescription.
Get the best deals and tips from Mirror Money
WHATSAPP GROUP: Get money news and top deals straight to your phone by joining our Money WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
"If you are going through perimenopause or menopause and you're prescribed HRT by your doctor, you can buy a HRT prepayment certificate (HRT PPC) for a one-off fee of £19.80," MSE added. "This will cover you for a year of prescriptions, including HRT patches, gels and tablets."
However, this certificate is specific to HRT and will not cover other medicines. You can read the NHS's full list of prescriptions covered by the HRT PPC here.
Am I eligible for free NHS prescriptions?
Some prescribed items are already free, despite your circumstances. This includes contraceptives and medication issued to hospital patients. You can also claim free NHS prescriptions if you fit any of the below criteria:
Aged under 16
Aged 16-18 and in full-time education
Aged 60 or over
Receive Income Support / Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance / Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Receive Universal Credit and your earnings for the most recent assessment period were £435 or less (or £935 if your claim includes an element for a child)
Pregnant women and those who have had a baby in the last 12 months
Have a valid medical exemption certificate - often offered for a range of illnesses including epilepsy or cancer.
Have a war pension exemption certificate
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Dentists: Patients could be seen by any surgery under NHS plans
Patients could be moved around dental surgeries under proposed changes to the of having a regular surgery, the changes could see people offered treatment at any practice within their health board area, with check-ups for those with healthy teeth pushed to every 18 to 24 Welsh government said the proposals would improve access to dental services, particularly for those most in the British Dental Association (BDA) said the opposite could happen and more patients may be forced to go private. The biggest change would see all patients over 18 placed onto a central waiting list, called the Dental Access Portal (DAP).They would then be allocated a surgery, which could be anywhere within the health board they need treatment, they would remain with that surgery until it is complete and beyond, if they needed close or when teeth are healthy, patients would be returned to the central portal and would be recalled for a check-up in 18 to 24 months wherever there is would be assessed under the plans but stay at the first surgery they are charges for patients would also change - with check-ups going up from £20 to £24.75 but a single crown going down from £260 to £239.15. Health Minister Jeremy Miles said the plans would benefit everyone."It will make NHS dentistry more attractive to dentists and that is good for patients," he said."Actually, what we want to make sure is that patients do look after their own oral health but when they do need to see a dentist they will be able to access one which is the critical thing." Jody Pegler, 46, from Pontllanfraith, Caerphilly county, who has been with his dentist in Newbridge for more than 30 years, said: "I have been coming here since I was a child."It's nice to see the same person on a regular basis."Mr Pegler, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, said his family members needing to visit different surgeries could be problematic."My wife, my child and myself could potentially be attending different practices," he said."It's difficult to get out and to go anywhere really and if we have to go to different practices it would be impossible."This dentist's in particular have made a big effort to make sure the practice is wheelchair accessible for me - that means a lot." Jody's dentist is Dr Harj Singhrao, owner of Newbridge Dental Care, who believes the potential breakdown in continued care will be "devastating"."If families can't be seen at the same practice, if people are punished then to join a waiting list because they have looked after their mouth, then where are they going to go? Because we know hospital waiting lists don't work," he said. The proposals are now part of a public consultation, open until 19 June, and in Cardiff people gave a mixed response to the plans when asked by BBC Weldon, 21, said: "I've been going to my dentist since I was probably six so I guess that would be a bit sad if I can't go to him."I would say too that things haven't been going very well for the NHS so maybe this could be a good start to kind of make things easier for them and for us."Paul McCarthy, 77, said he was unaware of the changes."I wouldn't be very happy about it either," he said."I've been coming here for over 30 years and I'm used to coming here so I wouldn't like that at all."Justin Rees, 52, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, thought the new portal idea could be positive. "It's good because one, there are no appointments at the moment."Two, it'll remind people that they need to have their teeth checked because you're busy all day and there's things that you let go," he said. In relation to how people currently access services, the consultation document says "contrary to popular belief" patients are not actually registered with a practice once their treatment ends, adding "for those who clinically require regular access, or an urgent need arises, nothing really changes".On check-ups, it says there is "false narrative" that six-monthly check-ups are necessary for everyone and that by giving people with healthy teeth a check-up less often, it will open up access for guidelines say intervals between check-ups "should be determined specifically for each patient" and the longest interval for adults should be 18-24 months. But Dr Lauren Harrhy from the BDA said she was concerned that people may end up waiting much longer, with "most people" benefiting from regular checks. Dr Harrhy, who runs a practice in Pontypool, Torfaen, said: "If we are always having patients into the practice who need lots of work done and they are not able to be put back into the central database, there is a saturation point and at which point, access into dental practices will cease."Our main concerns are we will have an overall reduction in the continuity of care... and we may find that dentists leave NHS dentistry which has been a trend over recent years anyway."Dentists also say the proposals offer no extra money to fund the changes. But Miles said investment in dentistry had increased year on year."This isn't a contract we have drawn up from thin air, it is based on years worth of work, it's 13 months of negotiations with the BDA itself," he said."No contract gives everybody exactly what they want but I am absolutely confident that for everybody - for patients, for dentists, for the NHS, for the government - this is a step forward."
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Parents of 17-year-old launch High Court battle to stop teen changing gender
The parents are separately seeking a judicial review of their GP's role Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE parents of a 17-year-old have launched a High Court bid to block their child from changing gender. They took the highly unusual move after the child forged their mother's signature to get hormone replacement therapy on the NHS. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up The teen was born a boy but identifies as a girl and is being backed in court by their GP. The parents insist the child lacks the mental capacity to consent to the treatment. In court papers they say no proper assessment of the teen's mental and physical health has been done. They also fear grave psychiatric harm if the child is allowed to continue with 'an inappropriate, negligently given, life-altering treatment'. READ MORE ON TRANS RIGHTS VANDAL PROBE Police hunt for trans-rights activists who defaced statue of suffragist The case is believed to be the first of its kind. The parents are separately seeking a judicial review of the GP's role in prescribing HRT. The Royal College of GPs previously stated medics should not prescribe gender-affirming hormones to patients under the age of 18. The child, who lives with their parents, started HRT last October, ahead of a referral to specialist gender services. London's High Court was told treatment began four weeks after the child forged their mum's signature on a self-assessment form. Keir says 'woman is an adult female' & insists he's 'pleased' by court trans ruling after years of woke dithering Mr Justice MacDonald said the child 'emphasises the law gives her permission to make her own decision'. The court heard the child, described as 'eloquent, articulate, and sensible' instructed a solicitor and is happy and doing A-levels. The child told the court: 'I live in two opposite worlds — one in my household, where I am seen as less than, and the other outside the home where I am calm and grounded.' Case adjourned until a later date.
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
How often women should have sex to be their happiest revealed in major study
Scroll down to discover which kind of women were most likely to be sexually satisfied JOY OF SEX How often women should have sex to be their happiest revealed in major study Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A WEEKLY romp is the key to a woman's happiness, according to a study. Women rated their relationship satisfaction highest if they had sex at least once a week, with 85 per cent pleased with their lot. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up That compared to 66 per cent for wives and girlfriends who got it on once a month, and 17 per cent who did it less than that. Study author Alexandra Janssen, from the University of Manchester, said: 'Women having sex less than once a week were far less likely to be satisfied in their sexual relationships. "Therapists working with women to improve their sexual relationship satisfaction might focus on increasing the frequency of sex.' The study questioned 483 women in New Zealand who had been in a relationship within the past year. Read More on sex DEAR DEIDRE I found out my partner is married when he called me by another name during sex Just over half — 56 per cent — said they were sexually satisfied. Results showed that satisfaction was higher if they had sex more often, had more orgasms, rated sex as an important aspect of their life and were younger. About six in ten Brits have sex less often than once a week, polling by YouGov shows. Ten per cent say they get lucky weekly and about another 15 per cent claim to do it more often. Writing in the International Journal of Sexual Health, Ms Janssen said: 'Sexual intimacy plays an important role in romantic relationships. 'In our study, less frequent sex was associated with a lower likelihood of sexual relationship satisfaction. Women who reported having sex one to two times a month were approximately three times less likely to be satisfied than those having sex two or more times a week. The benefits of having sex 'This effect was even more pronounced for women who reported having sex less than once a month, who were 25 times less likely to be satisfied.' Women aged 18 to 24 were most likely to be sexually satisfied and over-45s least likely. Those who rated sex as very important also had happier love lives than those who did not. Ms Janssen said: 'It seems unlikely that low self-rated importance of sex causes low sexual satisfaction. That may cause women to rate the importance of sex as low as a coping strategy.'
