This is the first time in 12 years that the DH has frozen prescription charges, it told C+D yesterday (March 27).
The last time prescription charges in England were frozen was in 2010, when they stayed at £7.20 per item.
Health minister Edward Argar said that there are no “planned” announcements for “any future increase” in response to a written parliamentary question last week (March 22).
He added: “Decisions on increases take account of a range of evidence, including the Gross Domestic Product deflator”.
What is the Gross Domestic Product deflator?
This is an indicator that measures the changes in prices for a country’s products and services. It shows the extent of price level changes.
Last year, prescription charges rose to £9.35 per prescription item.
This meant that price of a three-month prescription pre-payment certificate (PPC) increased to £30.25 and a 12-month PPC went up to £108.10.
The increase served as a “reminder” that community pharmacy teams are “also tax collectors”, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee pointedly remarked at the time.
The government launched a consultation last year that proposed raising the upper age exemption for prescription charges – currently set at 60 years of age – to 66 to align with the state pension age.
In its consultation document, the DH wrote that 1.1 billion items had been dispensed in 2018, with almost 90% of these being handed to patients free of charge. “Almost 63% of all items were dispensed free of charge because the patient was aged 60 or over,” the DH added.
