Prescription charge overhaul for Scotland likely
Exemption categories for NHS prescription charges in Scotland are to be overhauled after consultation, although charges will remain in place.
This seems the most likely outcome now that a Bill that aimed to abolish
prescription charges was defeated in the Scottish Parliament last week.
On the same day, the Scottish Executive announced the start of a three-month
consultation on prescription charge exemption categories (see Panel).
Consultation on possible reforms
Views are being sought by the Scottish Executive on a number of
issues:
· On chronic conditions, it asks whether exemptions should continue
to be given on medical grounds alone and, if so, whether the list
of conditions needs amending. Another possibility is allowing the
exemption to cover drugs related to the exempt condition, only,
and not to all prescriptions for the patient. Alternatively, exemptions
could be based on a list of drugs rather than a list of conditions.
· Possible changes to exemptions based on age include extending
the student exemption to include those in tertiary education.
· Exemptions based on income are also discussed, along with pre-payment
certificates. Suggested reforms include issuing retrospective pre-payment
certificates once a certain number of charges have been paid, introducing
a form of capping to the total charge that can be paid, or introducing
a concessionary rate for patients requiring regular prescriptions.
· Another potential approach is introducing a lower flat fee that
is payable by everyone except those exempt by age or low income.
Responses should be e-mailed to prescriptioncharges@scotland.gsi.gov.uk by
30 April. The consultation document can be accessed here |
The
Bill, which was put forward by Colin Fox MSP, was defeated by 77 votes
to 40, with one abstention. The vote followed a heated debate in
which health minister Andy Kerr said the Bill would rob the poor to give
to the rich by diverting NHS resources from hospitals and staffing into
free prescriptions for all.
“The alternative is set out in our consultation,” he said. “It
will consider whether exemptions for people on low incomes might be extended,
how the medical exemption arrangements might be reformed to be fairer
for all, whether exemptions should be extended to people in full-time
education and training, and whether payment arrangements for high users
should be reformed.” But Mr Fox hit back, saying that the Executive
showed disdain for the Parliament by waiting until just three hours before
the debate to announce the consultation when the Bill had been before
Parliament for two years. Despite gaining support for this protest, the
Bill was defeated. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader