Does having pbc now mean i can get free pre... - PBC Foundation
Does having pbc now mean i can get free prescriptions i on so many prescription drugs, not including pbc ones yet it costs a fortune.
Hello giggles12.
Unfortunately if you are in England as I am, the answer is a definite NO! I have to pay as always have for prescriptions but unlike yourself I am only on the urso.
What I did was inform my GP when I was originally prescribed urso (Dec 2010) that I had to pay and that 30 days supply to start off wasn't good enough so he wrote out for 60 days. After I had used the 60 days and had to go back, I haggled to get 90 days but I was informed by my GPs that that was the limit (even tho' the med review is every 6mths). Another GP in the practices waffled how much urso cost the NHS (so what?? I've hardly had any scripts my whole adult life and always have had to contribute to dental, opticians, etc when I have gone plus my own father died before he retired and he had worked his whole life, never got much back but that's another topic I guess).
There was apparently some review with an Health Minister think beg of this yr and it has been stated that England will never have free scripts for all unlike Scotland, Wales and part of Ireland.
I have been thru this whole scenario with paying for scripts back thru the 1980's and early 1990's as my first late husband required medication for bad asthma yet got up every day to go in to work and without an inhaler he would prob never have been able to do so yet had to pay for his scripts.
I have the view that if one has some condition that requires some for of medication that is known to aid then that particular item should be given free within reasonable monitoring but doubt that will ever be. Know if one is on thyroxine it is automatically free as is insulin so it is already available but not for folks with diagnosed PBC.
Then again, I suppose the powers-that-be would argue with us that urso isn't conclusively a drug that can positively aid us all as we know that for some it works fine and halts things, others it is a struggle so that grey area there?
So if I was you I'd press for the max urso you can get as at the end of the day if you have to pay for it......
if you live in England/ UK, I think you can get something like a 'season ticket' which is like a prepaid credit for prescriptions. I am not sure how much it costs or where you get it from but I know that if you are paying for scripts regularly, it can be a lot cheaper. I think you can pay for it over a period of time too so it's not all paid up from. It might also be worth checking if your income or personal circumstances would entitled you to free scripts.
I pay for mine monthly £10 something I have about 12 different items a month so I really save ,and yes it was posted that they were not considering any other disease to be immune from payment ,my consultant regularly checks for thyroid and diabetes just in case as he says
Hi I have a Pre-Payment Certificate which you need to apply for, you can do that online. As Neata said it is £10 pm so a huge saving if you have alot of meds - I have 9 and counting....
Interesting reading the regular checks for thyroid and diabetes. Been awhile since I had those done (2yrs ago now) but as I understood it you are only supposed to be able to get thyroxine free and not other prescriptions items apparently if you are not exempt from paying. Diabetes is a different matter as my son-in-law is insulin-dependent so I know that makes exemption for all.
For me just having urso it wouldn't be worth my while to have the 'season ticket' but it sounds like giggles12 would be.
When I worked as a domestic in open hours at a GP surgery (not my GPs might I add, only reason I orig got the job was because I was not a patient there as they didn't employ patients), I saw one day a notice going up on the board about prescriptions and could a person get some of their paid. This covered dental as well and only working 20hrs a wk at the time and being single then and running my own home (no dependent children, they had grown-up) I filled out the form with evidence of income and waited. To say I only worked part-time I got a letter back stating that any dental work on the NHS (that was not cosmetic) I had to pay for over the £200 mark would not be charged (that particular yr I only had 2 check-ups I paid for so didn't qualify!) and there was something about opticians but the prescriptions were not deemed free for that period. Of course now I am remarried and my husband works, I still have to pay as always have had to do.
My daughter and her husband are entitled to Working Tax Credits and she was given an exempt card for her prescriptions due to it. So maybe this is an option with you having children?
Thank you for feedback ''unfortunately'' because both my husband and myself work (for now) we fall just outside any handouts. so therefore we only just manage (private rent as well) and not alot left over for all that i have been given but will certainly look into the prepayment option looks like will be better option will add it all up and go from there so thank you for that.
I am in the USA so I am not sure if this works for anyone there, but a few different times over the years when I didn't have insurance, I filled out a short form for the pharmecutical company who make Urso and I qualifed for the prescription free. You would be suprised how fast and easy it is, however there are some income guidelines, they aren't as stringent as some. Hope this helps.
