Everyone aged 60 and over will continue to receive free prescriptions, the government has confirmed today. The announcement comes in response to a consultation launched by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2021 looking at whether the age free prescriptions become available should be aligned with the state pension age, which is currently 66.
However it has now said this will not happen. It said this was after it took a number of factors into account including current cost of living and increased medical needs due to an ageing population.
The u-turn comes following a backlash into the proposal at a time when many are struggling financially. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has said that due to the cost-of-living, there has been a rise in patients asking pharmacists "what medications they can do without".
