Paying for prescriptions

[elaine]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone ever looked into why we lupies have to pay for our prescriptions in the UK?

I know numerous people who have illnesses less severe than lupus who get theirs free!

Is there any work being done to try and get lupus recognised as one of these diseases that should be added to the "list"?

Thanks
Elaine

[birdie]

Hi Elaine

as far as I am aware they are trying in parliment to get lupus recognised as a disease that comes into the criteria of being exempt for paying for prescriptions I have read in the LUPUS UK magazine some months back about this but at present we still have to pay. The only way aroung this problem is by getting a cerificate which you pay for a year it is about ?89 and that will exclude you from paying for more presciptions. You need to need at least 14 scripts throughout the year to make it pay, or you can do it for 4 months, but make sure you renew before the old one runs out.

hope this has been of help to you

birdie



Last edited by Sannie at Mar 10 2003, 04:40 PM

[Sannie]

Hi Elaine

Lupus patients can get a medical exemption from prescription charges if they need carers.

Birdie is absolutely right about what she says too and it is worth contacting LUPUS UK about this.

Take care.

Love
Sannie

[RosemaryP]

You lucky things, in NZ we pay $3 per item, unless there is s surcharge like Celebrex has on it, until 20 items are used for the year. Then we are presecription free. Last year I paid $949.80 in Prescription costs. I will admit I had heavy use of Celebrex last year one stage for 4 months I took a tablet twice daily.

[gladm]

:wave: Hi All, In Canada all costs of prescriptions, except dispensing fee, are free to seniors, 65 and older. We get 85% coverage for all prescriptions plus glasses through my husbands work medical. My hubby is on quite expensive meds for high cholesterol and high blood pressure. He had angioplasty done 5 years ago for blocked arteries, and has been fine. Having health problems is not cheap.!!!love gladm.

[frono]

hi all,
in america it depends on what company you for if you have ny health coverage at all. i pay between $20-40 and higher for one prescription per month. some people just don't get them filled (like me sometimes) simply because they can't afford too. i consider myself medicaly poor!

[Heartful02]

Wow, things are really different around the world. I live in the US and we pay out alot for meds. With my insurence coverage I still pay $400.00 per month in co-pays and my husbands co. pays about $1,400.00 per month for coverage. If we loose insurance, unless we drop down to under 1,300.00 per month income, we would not recieve any gov. help. That would put my medication cost close to 1,200 per month, not including dr. visits.

It is truely expensive to live!! :(

There is no such thing as any condition that exempts you from paying for meds.
There are some that qualify you for disability, but you have to really fight for it and it doesnt include free meds.

:wave:



Last edited by Heartful02 at Mar 10 2003, 08:10 PM

[Shelley_rf]

Me too! I am not going on an anti-depressant because it will cost me another $30 per month! I am already spending $70 a month on what I am taking now. AND that is with health insurance!! :cry:
Shelley

[allicat]

This really is an expensive disease! But, looking at the different posts, I guess I am not too badly off.

We have medical coverage and my husband's company pays about 80% of the monthly subscription which is R3800 (approx $387 or GBP281) This covers all chronic medication, of which there is LOT in our family - hubbys cholesterol meds, daughters acne med, son's anti-depressants, and my anti-depressants, plaq, pred, nsaids, calcium.

My andi-depressant's cost almost R1000 per month alone, so I guess what we pay in insurance is quite reasonable considering it also covers hospitilisation 100% - private care, dentistry, most gp and specialist visits, and also non-chronic medication to the value of approx R5000 per annum.

It is amazing that so many people in this country rave about moving to the UK to get the wonderful National Health coverage, but usually when they come back, they are so grateful for our private medical aid system. Of course this does not apply to everyone in SA - I guess I am one of the fortunate ones, but there are plenty who are less well off.

Love to all
Allison :flowers: :flowers:

[iguana99]

wow! guess i have it better then a thought. my private ins copay is $14 per script, think i need to thank my husbands co. who provides the ins at no cost!!!!
:o Candace

[hazel595]

Hi Elaine

Quote ("Is there any work being done to try and get lupus recognised as one of these diseases that should be added to the "list"?)

I picked up the Butterfly produced by the Thames Valley Lupus Group Jan 2003 issue 3 whilst attending an appointment at St Thomas' so in answer to your question

EXERT from Butterfly January 2003 Issue 2 by the kind permission of Deputy Chair of the Thames Valley Lupus Group

Lupus Patients Exempt From Prescription Charges?

During 1968 a list of specified medical conditions were drawn up as a means of exempting chronically sick patients from prescription charges. LUPUS, unfortunately, was not included on this list. Letters have been written to both the DSS and government ministers by Regional LUPUS group chairmen and LUPUS UK Trustees, stressing the importance of steroid dependence by a large number of LUPUS sufferers, and now it has been accepted that LUPUS affects sufferers differently and therefore, it was decided that a patients own doctor should determine as to whether the individual patient suffers from HYPOANDRENALISM, or not, as a result of steroid medication and so therefore be entitled to free medication.

Patients need to of been on steroids for a long timeand still be taking it, also they need to be, or have been on a relatively high dose, not forgetting that the body makes between 4/5 ~ 8/10 mg normally, but chooses to be lazy when it has been given synthetic steroids, and stops producing it, but when reducing your steriods with a view to stopping the synthetic drug (i.e. prednisolone) the body will adjust and in most cases,re-instate the bodies own production of steoid!

To see if your anadrenal glands have been suppressed, through steroid use, you will need to see your consultant and asked to be tested. The test you will have to complete is called the 'Short SynacthenTest', this test involves patients on a steroid dose above 5-10mg to stop taking this medication for avout 2 weeks and then to have a blood test followed by an injection of ACTH, then a further injection.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MAY REQUIRE AN ADMISSION TO HOSPITAL.

If successful your doctor will be happy to sign the Free Prescription Form FP92A (EC92A in Scotland). In some cases, if your Consultant / GP are already sure that, after having long-term steroid therapy that your andrenal glands have been prevented from working as they should, they may agree to sign the Free Prescrition Form FP92A (EC92A) without it being necessary for you to complete the 'Short Synacthen Test'

IT MUST BE STRESSED THAT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MUST YOU STOP TAKING YOUR STEROIDS, WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING YOUR CONSULTANT / GP!

I hope this helps to answer some of the worries that most of us have.


:love: Hazel

[Gagirl2]

:wave:
Hey ya`ll,

Just wanted to add that my husbands insurance was so good until we started using it. :blink: All my meds were just $10. Wow It was wonderful. Then when I started to have more, they went up to the highest co-pay $35 and $40. Now they have started not paying for them . It is like they just pick one at random and say..."oh we don`t cover it". So while I am thankful that I only pay the highest co-pay, I see what they are doing. Boy, It is nothing but a racket. :angry: But.......... I will continue to pay the cost....cuz I ainta doing without it. :)
:)

[HelenS]

hi, i live in canada and my hubby pays into group insurance at work. it covers the complete cost of prescriptions. if the dr doesnt specify to not give me generic i will get the generic version of a drug. it is not a cheap insurance plan but well worth it for a lupie. if i didnt have my hubbys insurance i would be paying out hundreds of dollars a month for meds. take care. helen.

[hazel595]

Hi All

I have taken my own advice and asked my GP for a Free Prescription Form FP92A today. I don't have to do the 'test' as he agrees that I am dependant on Steroid Therapy. I now also fall into the catergory of a specified medical condition (MS) and also as Sannie pointed out Lupus patients can get a medical exemption from prescription charges if they need carers and are entitled to ask their GP for a Free Prescription Form FP92A if they live in the UK.

My GP said I might even be able to get a refund for the ?86.20 Pre-payment prescription charge I paid for on 1st March 2003. I haven't had the time to get any prescriptions on the pre-payment card as I went into hospital on 3rd March 2003.

A lot of ppl knock the UK NHS (Nation Health Service) System but from reading other posts from other countries I think we're extremely lucky to have our NHS it's not brilliant however it works sometimes. :blink:

:love: hazel



Last edited by hazel595 at Mar 12 2003, 02:11 AM

[seska]

Hi guys

I have a pre-payment certificate (in the UK). The way these are administered has changed fairly recently.
The PP certs are worth it if u have to pay for more than 5 prescription items in 4 months (cert costs ?32.40), or 14 items in 12 months (cert costs ?89.00).

REMEMBER - u might be able to get free prescriptions. You should check whether you could get free prescriptions before buying a PPC. For information go to: Are you entitled to help with health costs? (NHS booklet HC11) (http://www.doh.gov.uk/nhscharges/hc11.htm)

U can also get Leaflet from Post Offices, pharmacies and GPs or from : Department of Health, PO Box 777, LONDON SE1 6XH.

To apply for the PPC call 0845 850 0030 or download their app form at PPC application form (http://www.doh.gov.uk/nhscharges/fp95form.pdf) or get one from a chemists/pharm - check here for avail. chemists who sell them --> Pharms selling PPC's (http://www.ppa.org.uk/news/pharm_for_internet.pdf)

for more info check out the PPA's Homepage (http://www.ppa.org.uk/)


hope this helps

its a bit of a confusiing thing + took me ages to find out where to getr one when i was 1st looking lolol.....

take care, love seska x x x

[allicat]

Just as a matter of interest, what does pred cost in the various countries? I had never looked at the cost of pred or nivaquine, because the pharmacist claims directly from the medical aid, but there was a mix up last week and I was asked (by a locum) to pay - I was very surprised to see that the charge for 60 x 5mg tabs was equal to 1$.

Is it as cheap as this elsewhere?

Allison :flowers: :flowers:

[hazel595]

Hi Seska

I did apply to get free national health costs which meant free prescritions, eye tests and glasses and a few other benifits that i can't remember off hand but the very long and thick booklet i completed i think it ws HC11 they refused because my husband is in fulltime employment and his income is higher than the minimum.

I didn't realise at the time that, regardless of income, because i have a dependancy on steroids that i could get my GP to complete a very small form FP92A to claim free prescriptions. After being dx'd with MS aswell as SLE i can get free meds anyway because MS appears on the government 'list'.

Hope you are feeling better now seska so sorry we didn't get to meet whilst in St Toms.

take care :love: hazel

[hazel595]

Hi allicat

Sorry i can't help with that question there are differnces of cost in the UK.

In Wales each item on a prescription costs ?6 whether you have 60 x 5mgs or 60 x 25mg.

In England the prescription charges are higher by about 20 pence per iitem (?).

We can buy a Certificate of Pre-Payment Charges and in Wales the cost is ?86.20 and in England Seska pays ?89.

It's only a small difference in the cost.

I think there is about $1? to our ?1 but i'm not sure. That means that your Pred is much cheaper over there than in the UK.

I'll watch this posting it would be interesting to see all the different costs.

take care :wave: :love: hazel

[Shelley_rf]

Hi Allison!
Prednisone is very cheap in the US. I got 100, 5 mg tablets for 10 dollars. Plaquenil is not cheap and neither are the anti-depressants. It's sad that we have to deal with all of the effects of the disease and also worry about how we are going to pay for it! :( I am thankful that I have insurance, I know several that don't.
Have a good day!
Shelley

[hazel595]

Hi I recently saw a post with someone asking about Paying for prescriptions.

I did this search as this question was asked a few years ago.......read the whole thread as it is really helpful especially about the FP92A form.

xxxhazel

[Scottie]

Well I never reckoned I'd say this - but maybe I'm lucky my thyroid packed in before I got a lupus diagnoses.

Because I'm on thyroxine I get all prescription items free.

Hashimotos thyroiditis is one of the more common autoimmune diseases and autoimmune conditions often double up. Symptoms overlap too.

Worth checking that thyroids are still in perfect working order because if they're not - pills can help and prescriptions no longer cost - in the UK anyway.

[jude mack]

Hi

In B.C. Depending on our income we are exempt after paying a certain amount.
I pay a $100.00 a year and BC Medical pays the rest, I feel very lucky for this, as
I would be putting out up to $400 per month. Hope and pray UK parliment, comes
up with something for all of you. Good luck. Jude

[tezza]

hey just wanted to get my bit in. Im currently in the middle of getting benefits incapacity benefit and income support as i am unable to work. I am entitled to get free prescriptions so i have been told by my advisor at dwp. so if theres anybody in teh uk who is unable to work through there ikllness i would advice talking to someone from your local dwp to see if u r entitled to benefits especcially if u paid tax n national insurance for quite sum time. just my opinion if u r unable to work through illness you should be entitled to some sort of bennefits. check it out. :D

xXTerrieXx

[Mrs H]

Prednisolone is extreamly cheap in the UK. Ask your GP for a private prescription.

[Jenlynn]

Hey all,

I do not have coverage for my prescriptions so each month I have to decide which I can live without that month. My doctor has me taking depomedrol injections so I can not have the pill steroids but I have not had plaquenil for over three months now and I am off the metho too. I have new refills but cannot afford them with no insurance and hubby being disabled too. We live on next to nothing right now and we are even moving in with my mother in law to save money (bully for me, lol). Anyhoo, it is terribly expensive if you have no insurance and even trying to get on the patient assistance programs can take a long time (I have tried and still nothing).

That is my two cents worth....

Jenlynn

[Wendy337]

Hi All, :wave:

For those of you in the U.S. who are uninsured or underinsured, I would like to suggest that you check out prescription costs at Costco. I was absolutely shocked to find out that I could get one of my brother's Rx's filled for less at Costco WITHOUT insurance than at other places with insurance. They really have some very cheap Rx prices, and I'm pretty sure you don't have to be a member to use the pharmacy. I highly recommend checking it out if you live anywhere near one or know someone who does & could get your Rx's for you.

Best of luck to all, :luck:

Wendy