Scrap England's "Shameful" Prescription Charge, Urges DTB

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 07 Jul 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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The prescription charge in England is a tax in all but name - and an unfair one at that - and should be axed, says Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB).

England is the only one of the four UK countries that has either not already scrapped the charge or plans to do so by April 2011.

DTB argues that, contrary to popular belief, the £7.20 currently levied on prescription medicines does not directly reflect the cost of the drug prescribed and does not specifically fund health services.

Instead, the charge is for raising general tax revenue, it says.

With the abolition of the charge in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, a key argument put forward for its retention - namely that it reminds people of the cost of medicines, and acts as a deterrent to overuse prescription services - rings hollow, says DTB.

"Why only people in England need such a reminder is far from clear," it says.

Those who support the charge argue that many people are exempt. But these exemptions are totally illogical, says DTB. And they are so confusing that even NHS Prescription Services is setting up an online quiz for healthcare professionals to test their knowledge about whom they should and should not be charging.

The other concern that advocates for the retention of the charge advance is that its abolition might prompt patients to demand medicines "of dubious value." The counter argument is that if these products are so questionable, they should not be available for prescription in the first place, insists DTB.

Having demolished the arguments in support of keeping the prescription charge in England, DTB concludes: "[It] is a poorly conceived, manifestly unfair tax that shames the NHS and the Department of Health. It needs to go."

Source
Drug And Therapeutics Bulletin

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