To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposals to align prescription charges with the State Pension age on people who currently pay for their medication until the age of 60 and who are diagnosed with (a) Parkinson’s, (b) HIV, (c) asthma, (d) heart disease, (e) liver disease, (f) inflammatory bowel disease and (g) other long term conditions; on what date he will publish the outcome of the Government consultation on Aligning the upper age for NHS prescription charge exemptions with the State Pension age; if he will make it his policy to maintain free prescriptions for over 60s; and if he will make a statement.
Answered on
28 October 2021
No assessment has been made. However, the impact assessment published alongside the consultation discusses the potential impacts of the change on people who have disabilities and long term conditions, which are not listed as medical exemptions from prescription charges, using three examples of long term conditions: inflammatory bowel disease, Parkinson’s Disease and asthma. The impact assessment can be found at the following link:
The responses to the consultation are currently being considered. No decisions on the proposals have yet been taken, including prescriptions for those aged over 60 years old. The Government’s response will be published in due course.