Age UK has revealed that lowering the eligibility age to 66 and scrapping prescription fees for those over 60 could have devastating effects on the health of tens or thousands of older Americans.
20 healthcare organizations expressed concern that many elderly people would be left without medication and could not afford it.
After receiving more than 32,000 responses, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), consultation about proposals to increase the eligibility age for free NHS prescriptions to England from 60 to 66 will be closed on Thursday.
The letter's signatories, Age UK, the Royal College of GPs and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), warn that the proposal would have a long-lasting adverse effect on half (52%) of 60- and 64-year-olds who have one or more chronic conditions. This will be especially detrimental for those with low incomes and people who are sick.
According to the Office for National Statistics, there are over 3.7 million 65- and 60-year-olds living in the UK. According to the DHSC's impact analysis, 2/3 of 66% would not be eligible for free prescriptions and 15% wouldn't adhere fully to their prescribed medication.
Caroline Abrahams, director of charity, said that some patients would hesitate to get diagnosed or act on symptoms because they fear being unable or unable to afford life-saving or long-term symptom relief.
Professor Martin Marshall, RCGPs Chair of Council, stated that introducing an extra cost for patients over 60 who have long-term conditions would disproportionately impact a large number of patients on low incomes, but above the threshold for financial assistance for their medication costs.
Marshall stated that patients who are less financially secure would be discouraged to manage their health more proactively. This could lead to them only seeing their GP when they are experiencing much worse problems. He said that this is made worse by the 18-month wait for treatment many patients have endured.
The DHSC estimates that the proposed proposals could add 300m to the NHS budget in 2027. However, the letter warns that this number is only a fraction of the NHS 212.1bn budget 2020/21. It also fails to account for the effect on local health services. Abrahams stated that the extra costs to the NHS will easily outweigh the money raised by the government if the proposal is approved. This could happen if people don't take their medication or become more sick than expected. Due to the rationing of their medication, thousands could need hospital treatment.
Thorrun Govind (chair of RPS English pharmacy board) stated that the proposal amounts to a tax for the sick at precisely the time in their lives when they might be in need of more medicine. He called for prescription fees to be eliminated in England for all ages, just as in Scotland and Wales.
A spokesperson for DHSC stated that 90% of prescriptions in England are free and that people don't have to pay if they have certain medical conditions or are low-income.
Since 1995, the upper age exemption has not been modified. We are therefore consulting to restore the link between the state pension age and this exemption. We have not yet made any final decisions and will publish the response to our consultation in due course.
