Feeling scammed (Prescriptions)

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*** Hope this doesn't constitute a medical thread, not going to be discussing medical issues, just how backwards society seems ***


Is it wrong to feel agreived and even scammed regarding prescriptions.

Just been to the docs for abdominal pains, prescribed 2 lot of antibiotics (due to allergies) & paid the princely sum of £20 because I work.

Yet if I were a dole squatting, oxygen theiving, resource drain on society, they'd have been free.

Surely that's backwards? I pay thousands a year in taxes to pay for healthcare services already, shouldn't I be the one recieving "free" medication having techinically already paid for it?
 
Noxia said:
You're receiving heavily discounted medication. Their's is just more heavily discounted. Personally I'm not dead enough inside to begrudge people not having to pay for medication.
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Maybe but perhaps not always. Someone involved in pharmaceuticals told me that a course of Amoxicillin only costs something like 20p to produce.
 
new boy said:
Often the medication would be cheaper than £8 though.
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I would actually be interested in a proper source of this not somebody's mate who told them once. Doing some googling.

There was something on the news just the other day about pharmacies losing money and closing because they can only claim so much back and they are being charged more from the drug companies.

Edit. It seems the cost is the 'dispensing charge' and not actually related to the cost of the medicine.

@Mr Badger 80p isn't far off from what you said on this article (went to £18). So yes I expect there is a massive split. When I was getting my ADHD medication privately I was paying 110 quid for a month's supply.

news.sky.com

Strep A antibiotics skyrocket as prices 'hiked up to take advantage' of demand

A pharmaceutical industry leader told Sky News the price of antibiotic Amoxicillin has risen from 80p to £18 following "volatile spikes in demand for drugs".
news.sky.com news.sky.com


Prescription Cost Analysis – England – 2022-23 | NHSBSA

Correction notice - SNOMED codes in the national summary tables were incorrectly formatted. Read our correction notices page for more details. Published 8 June 2023 This page was last reviewed and updated 27 July 2023.
www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk

Just about to flick through the spreadsheet I think this should say the price per unit to the NHS in the summary tables.
 
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Gepetto said:
Free when you turn 60, which I didn't know.

I used to get the annual prescription payment as at 3 prescriptions a month it was much cheaper.
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9 months to go for me :D
My wife's now got a thyroid problem so her prescriptions are free again. Before that a prepayment cert was the way to go at about £100 a year.
OP if you want to know how much this stuff really costs, get a pet and take it to a vet for treatment...
 
Noxia said:
I would actually be interested in a proper source of this not somebody's mate who told them once. Doing some googling.

There was something on the news just the other day about pharmacies losing money and closing because they can only claim so much back and they are being charged more from the drug companies.

Edit. It seems the cost is the 'dispensing charge' and not actually related to the cost of the medicine.

@Mr Badger 80p isn't far off from what you said on this article (went to £18). So yes I expect there is a massive split. When I was getting my ADHD medication privately I was paying 110 quid for a month's supply.

news.sky.com

Strep A antibiotics skyrocket as prices 'hiked up to take advantage' of demand

A pharmaceutical industry leader told Sky News the price of antibiotic Amoxicillin has risen from 80p to £18 following "volatile spikes in demand for drugs".
news.sky.com news.sky.com
Click to expand...

Well if you have to take paracetamol daily then the docs can prescribe you boxes of 100 to save you having to get 2 small boxes from a shop all the time. Obviously if you have to pay £8 for 100 then you will just put up with the inconvenience of getting them from a supermarket as it's much much cheaper.
 
new boy said:
Well if you have to take paracetamol daily then the docs can prescribe you boxes of 100 to save you having to get 2 small boxes from a shop all the time. Obviously if you have to pay £8 for 100 then you will just put up with the inconvenience of getting them from a supermarket as it's much much cheaper.
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Yes of course. But the kind of drugs I suspect op is talking about are not ones he can get behind the counter at the Asda pharmacy. Oh yeah, clearly said antibiotics.
 
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Noxia said:
Yes of course. But the kind of drugs I suspect op is talking about are not ones he can get behind the counter at the Asda pharmacy.
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Sure. But many of the medicines cost next to nothing to produce, yet you still have to pay the flat rate of £8 if they are prescription only.

Diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, and was given Methotrexate and folic acid to take for the rest of my life. I also needed naproxen and Omeprazole regularly. None of these medicines are expensive but I had to pay £8 each or get a pre payment certificate.

Around the same time my colleague has diagnosed with diabetes and he got all his medicine costs covered. I was pleased for him but it felt a bit unfair I had to pay, as the medication was not optional as otherwise my joints would quickly become destroyed.

On the plus side, I was misdiagnosed and I'm fine now, so whatever really lol
 
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