The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7442 p269
10 March 2007

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News summary

Prescription charge changes

Prescription charges in England and Scotland rise by 20p to £6.85 on 1 April 2007. The charge will be abolished in Wales on the same date.

Health minister Lord Hunt said that 87 per cent of prescriptions in England are currently exempt from the prescription charge. He added that the charge was expected to raise £425m in 2007–08.

In Scotland, deputy health minister Lewis Macdonald said that 92 per cent of prescriptions qualified for charge exemption.

The future of prescription charges and the exemption system in both England and Scotland is currently under review. Options under consideration in England include revising the list of conditions that qualify for exemption, dropping all exemptions and basing exemption on income.