Those aged 60 and over in England will still have access to free prescriptions, despite a 2021 consultation that recommended raising the free prescription threshold to meet the state pension age at age 66, the government confirmed today (June 15).

Pharmacy minister Neil O’Brien said “cost-of-living” pressures informed the government’s decision to keep the prescription exemption age where it is. 

Read more: Government reportedly ditches script fee change proposals for over 60s

People under 16, or aged 17 and 18 but in full time education, will also continue to receive free prescriptions, the government said.

People on low incomes may also qualify for exemptions, either through Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits and tax credits or the NHS Low Income Scheme, it added.

The current NHS prescription charge is £9.65 per item, raising by 30p in April after being frozen at £9.35 since 2021.

 

DH consultation proposals rejected

 

In July 2021, the government proposed raising the upper age exemption for prescription charges to the state pension age of 66.

At the time, DH said that increasing the upper age exemption would raise “significant extra revenue”. 

This proposal was met with opprobrium by industry bodies, with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) calling it a “tax on the sick”.

Read more: MPs to debate prescription charges for over 60s next week

In 2020, C+D launched a campaign for the prescription charge in England to be dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic.

No prescription charges are levied in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and pharmacy bodies have long called for England to drop these charges too.

 

Keeping the trust

 

On March 6, MPs debated raising the prescription charge exemption age limit, after a petition urging the government to "protect free NHS prescriptions for over 60s” was submitted with 46,000 signatures.

On March 13, Labour MP and pharmacist Taiwo Owatemi warned that increasing the prescription charge exemption age limit would “break [the] trust” of older people.

Read more: Script fee changes for over 60s would ‘break trust’, pharmacist MP warns

Then on March 16, reports emerged that DH had decided to scrap the proposed reform after a public and political backlash. These reports are confirmed by today’s announcement.

 

“Scrap prescription charges”

 

Meanwhile, Chair of the RPS in England Thorrun Govind called the decision to keep the exemption “a victory for common sense”. She added that the proposal was “wrong from the start”.

“Prescription charges are an unfair tax on health for people in England and we continue to call for this complex and bureaucratic system to be abolished,” Ms Govind added.

Read more: RPS vows to continue fight to abolish prescription charges for long-term conditions

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) welcomed the news, with NPA vice chair Jay Badenhorst saying that raising the prescription exemption age could have led to “indirect costs” if people were to choose not to take prescribed medicines as a result. 

“From a pharmacist’s point of view, processing prescription levies is a task which adds workload but has no patient benefit,” said Mr Badenhorst, adding that the NPA also wants the government to “scrap prescription charges altogether”.