PEOPLE are just realising there’s a discount scheme which can cut prescription costs by £96 a year.
The cost of living crisis has left many of us fighting to cut back on spending as much as possible.
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But many people rely on daily medication and this can be very costly.
Women on HRT medication can get a discount on their prescriptions which could save them up to £96 a year.
The Sun’s Fabulous Menopause Matters campaign, called for annual passes to be cheaper back in 2021 and it finally came to fruition in April this year.
The government provides an HRT prescription prepayment certificate to those who have been prescribed the medication.
It’ll cost people just £19.30 for 12 months, so if you get HRT medication monthly, you could save £96.50 a year.
That’s because one prescription is £9.65 and that every month for a year totals £115.80 – if you take off £19.30 from £115.80, you’ll get £96.50.
And some people are only just realising that they might qualify.
Posting in Facebook’s Extreme Couponing & Bargains group, one women said she’s now saving £76 a year thanks to the certificate.
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The post has hundreds of comments from others not realising they could get the discount.
One tagged her friend and said: “Did you know about this?”
While another commented: “Thanks for the share.”
How does the HRT prescription certificate work?
The certificate will cover all your eligible HRT prescriptions for that period, no matter how many different medicines you need.
There’s no limit on the number of HRT prescription items you can get with it while it’s valid.
You’ll save money if you’re going to buy more than two prescription items in 12 months.
To apply, claimants will need to fill in a form online, through the government’s website: https://www.gov.uk/get-a-ppc/hrt-ppc.
If you’re unable to fill in the form online, then some pharmacies do provide them – so check with your local one to see.
Bear in mind that the discount scheme does not cover all HRT medications so do check before you claim.
The certificate will be valid for 12 months from the start date and is still valid for use on the day it expires.
If it is over a month before you collect your next HRT prescription, you should buy later to get the most out of your HRT PPC.
You can choose the start date of your HRT PPC – this can be up to one calendar month before or after the date you buy.
How else can I save money on prescriptions?
It isn’t just those on HRT that can cut medication costs.
Thousands of people could be eligible for free prescriptions for all sorts of medication because their partner – including your civil partner – receives certain benefits.
If this is you then it’s worth checking if you qualify as you could save hundreds of pounds a year.
You’ll qualify if your partner received one of the following:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
- Universal Credit and meet the criteria
To get a free prescription on Universal Credit, you need to have no earnings or have had net earnings of £435 or less in your last Universal Credit assessment period.
You also qualify if you receive a Universal Credit child element, or you or your partner have a limited capability for work (LCW) or a limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA).
You also need to have no earnings or earned £935 or less in your last Universal Credit assessment period.
If you live in England you can also get free prescriptions if you’re in one of the following groups:
- You’re aged 60 or over
- You’re aged under 16 or are 17 or 18 and in full-time education
- You’re pregnant or had a baby in the previous 12 months and have a valid maternity exemption certificate
- You have a specific medical condition and have valid medical exemption card
- You have a continuing physical disability that prevents you going out without help from another person and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
- You hold a valid war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disability
- You are an NHS inpatient
Medical conditions for which you can get a medical exemption card include cancer and epilepsy.
Others include hypoparathyroidism, Addison’s disease and myasthenia gravis.
You can find the full list on the NHS’ website.
You can also get free prescriptions if you are entitled to an NHS tax credit exemption certificate.
You qualify for one of these if you receive child tax credits or working tax credits (including a disability or severe disability element).
You also need to have an income of less than £15,276 a year.
How do I apply for free NHS prescriptions?
If you want to figure out if you’re eligible for a certificate, you can use the government’s eligibility checker.
Just head to this link here, it takes about three minutes- https://services.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/check-for-help-paying-nhs-costs/start.
You can then ask your GP for an FP92A form to apply for a medical exemption.
This will give you free prescriptions for five years – after that you’ll need to apply the same way again.
You can use the same checker to see if you’re entitled to free prescriptions and other free health-related support, such as free glasses and sight tests or dental treatment.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
You can also join our new Sun Money Facebook group to share stories and tips and engage with the consumer team and other group members.
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
