Is being charged £6.85 for a prescription medicin fair?

Question

Especially when you can buy the very same medicine over the counter for about 3 euros in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Turkey.

Prescriptions in Scotland are free for doleys and workers.

Is this government racketeering? I can hardly go looking for the best price as I can for any other goods or services.

My main concern is the difference between out country and others - we are part of the EU. It just seems unfair.

Answer 1

No. It is not fair.

Answer 2

It's not fair that Wales and soon Scotland get free prescriptions subsidised by the English but you can get a Pre-Pay Certificate for about £98 a year (£8 a month) so if you get two a month it's not too bad. 18 years ago on honeymoon in Florida my wife needed penicillin for a mouth abscess. It cost us £25 and that was in 1989! So I suppose we aren't that hard done by.

Answer 3

i think its really expensive as some medicines are cheaper without prescription so do ask if its available over the counter before you pay. if they gave us free prescriptions then they would get the money from somewhere else i.e. raise tax or charge a fee to visit the doctor etc! there is no way to avoid them and i agree that its naff but other countries are more expensive or have less medicine available so we have to get used to it!

Answer 4

In Wales, all prescription charges are FREE to everyone, with the cost being met by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Answer 5

prescriptions are free for doley in England as well and the low paid i have to pay and live in Scotland if you think you can get it cheaper in Spain move there then you will be moaning that you have to pay to see a doctor just pay

Answer 6

Prescriptions in Scotland are NOT free for people who work full time.
Unless they are on a low wage.

I pay the full price for my prescriptions in Scotland.
they will phase out the charges gradually by 2010.

I'ts not fair when you can get them abroad cheaper though

Answer 7

Always ask the pharmacist if it's cheaper to buy them over the counter before you pay for the prescription in a lot of cases it is.

Answer 8

some medication is definitely cheaper in other countries,
But, what about the government of a certain European country paying for their, senior citizens to have a holiday at no cost to the individual?
How can they do it, and we in the UK cannot? Dear medicines, dearer cost of living, taxed on everything you buy,that tells us something, we are gullible, and put up with it year, on year.

Answer 9

What you do is, you get together with friends and start your own website posting the cheapest prices in the realm so folks can save a bit. You and your friends visit two or three druggists and then get back to your site and determine who's got the best prices and post it. We yanks have done that in several ways: we post local petrol prices, milk prices, tyre prices...it can help us save a few pennies, and given the cost of gasoline - excuse me, petrol - every bloody penny helps!

Answer 10

Fair is a matter of opinion, but it's definitely legal. Look on the positive side: be glad you're not in the US where some people spend hundreds of dollars on prescriptions per month.

Answer 11

I fully agree with you. But you should move to Wales because no one pays for prescriptions here only if it is a Private Prescription. This applies to all ages.Infants also get free school milk.