When do NHS prescription prices go up and how much will it increase?

NHS prescription costs are set to rise in April (Picture: Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

There’s no denying that the National Health Service (NHS) is a remarkable service.

Access to free (at the point of use) healthcare is something many around the world simply don’t have.

However, lots of us do pay upfront for any medication we’ve been prescribed, either by a GP or specialist.

And, along with the cost of living, the price of those prescriptions does tend to creep up slowly every year.

So, will it go up again soon? And by how much?

When will NHS prescription prices go up?

Rumour has it that NHS prescription charges are set to rise again on April 1 this year.

Will your medicine cost more soon? (Picture: Getty)

Typically, they do rise around this time each year. However, nothing has yet been confirmed for 2022.

Presumably, any uplift would only affect people who currently pay for their prescriptions in England – as they’re all free for patients in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

How much could NHS prescription prices increase by?

Again, this hasn’t been confirmed by the government yet.

But Rich Quelch, Head of Marketing at pharmaceutical packing company Origin, says the possible new cost can be determined by looking at trends from previous years.

He said: ‘Recent research by Chemist4U shows prescriptions have risen by an average of 2.35% year on year.

Many of us currently pay for NHS prescriptions, but some are not (Picture: Getty)

‘If this trend continues, we can expect NHS prescription charges to rise from £9.35 to £9.57 on April 1.’

And, he adds, if the current trend continues, the price could soar to £13 by 2035.

It’s worth keeping in mind that the prescription charge in England helped to fund 0.5% of the NHS resource budget in 2018-19, totalling a whopping £576 million.

Do I need to pay for my NHS prescriptions?

As mentioned: only people in England need to pay for NHS prescriptions.

Patients living in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can pick up their medication free of charge.

For anyone living in England, contraceptives such as the pill should also be free to pick up.

There are plenty of people who can avoid prescription charges in England, including under 16s and over 60s (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

And then there are certain groups in England who are exempt from paying, including:

• Over 60s
• Under 16s
• 16 – 18 year olds in full-time education
• Anyone with a valid maternity exemption certificate (for pregnancy, or having a baby within the last 12 months)
• Anyone with a valid medical exemption certificate (for those with specific medical conditions, or a continued physical disability, under certain criteria)
• Anyone with a valid war pension exemption certificate, for a specific disability
• NHS inpatients
• The recipient of certain benefits, including Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit (though you may have to meet certain criteria).

To see if you’re entitled to free prescriptions, you can use the NHS website’s eligibility checker.

That said, there is some speculation that the over 60s in England may lose their free NHS prescriptions.

It could potentially be that only over 66s will get free medications this way – which would affect around 2.4 million people aged 60 – 65.

For now, we’ll have to wait and see what the government plans to do.

Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Share your views in the comments below