MPs last week (March 6) debated a petition calling for the continuation of free prescriptions for those aged over 60, which garnered more than 46,000 signatures.
The government consulted on aligning the upper age exemption for NHS prescription charges with the state pension age - which currently stands at 66 - in 2021 but is yet to make a decision on whether to forge ahead with the reform.
Currently, people receive free prescriptions after turning 60 in England.
Read more: MPs to debate prescription charges for over 60s next week
Ms Owatemi, who is Labour MP for Coventry North West, said during the Westminster Hall debate that upping the prescription age will break the trust of older people who have paid into the system all their lives and have "trusted that if they work hard and pay their taxes, they will be looked after”.
"That is the deal we make with them and it is what they expect from us when they get older," she said. "The government’s proposal will break that trust."
"We cannot afford to abandon older people now simply because the government have decided that this is the best way forward," she added, saying that "doing so will impact trust in the long term".
Read more: DH to hike prescription charges by 30p from next month
Ms Owatemi said that she has seen at “first hand the difference that free access to medication makes to those over the age of 60”, adding that she has treated “patients whom the prescription proposals will make worse off".
"It should not have to be spelled out that, as people age, they will develop long-term healthcare needs, and those needs will need to be treated by prescription drugs," she told MPs.
“No decision has been made yet”
But pharmacy minister Neil O'Brien reiterated that “no decision has been made yet to bring [these] proposals forward”.
He added that the government wants to "ensure that everyone across the country, especially those affected by the cost of living pressures caused by the Russian invasion [of Ukraine], can afford their prescriptions".
Read more: RPS: Rise in patients asking pharmacists what meds they can ‘do without’
"That is why we have thought long and hard about how best to balance the needs of those in the affected age group, many of whom will find that they have additional health needs compared with when they were younger, with the pressures facing the public finances," he said.
The government will respond to the consultation "in due course", he added.
The debate did not end with a vote to decide on whether to maintain free NHS prescriptions for the over-60s.
Pre-payment certificates can offer “significant savings”
Mr O'Brien went on to say that pre-payment certificates (PPCs) can offer “significant savings” and an annual PPC can allow people to “spread the cost over the year”.
But Amanda Smith, manager of Heath Pharmacy Ltd in Halifax, told C+D last week (March 7) that "the whole process seems to be getting more convoluted and confusing for pharmacy staff and more importantly patients”.
“Bringing prescription fees in line with retirement age will further complicate the administration of prescriptions for pharmacy teams,” Ms Smith said.
“We are soon to have the added complication of the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) PPC,” she added.
Read more: PSNC: HRT pre-payment certificate poses 'financial risk' to pharmacies
“I would be interested to know what revenue the prescription charge actually brings into the Treasury after it has accounted for the cost of administering and verifying it,” she told C+D.
It comes as prescription charges in England are set to rise by 30p to £9.65 per item next month - with three-month PPCs rising by £1 to £31.25 and 12-month PPCs rising by £3.50 to £111.60 - the government announced last week (March 9). PPCs for HRT will cost £19.30, it said.
Chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's (RPS) English Pharmacy Board Thorrun Govind told C+D that the news was "a kick in the teeth" given there are reports of patients who are already unable to afford their prescriptions.
Last month, the RPS revealed that 51% of community pharmacists had seen an increase in patients not collecting prescriptions in the previous six months, while more than two-thirds (67%) reported an increase in patients asking if there were cheaper over-the-counter substitutes for their prescription medicines.
