{"id":82392,"date":"2025-05-07T17:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T17:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/82392\/"},"modified":"2025-05-07T17:23:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T17:23:09","slug":"anyone-who-gets-nhs-prescriptions-told-do-it-sooner-rather-than-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/82392\/","title":{"rendered":"Anyone who gets NHS prescriptions told ‘do it sooner rather than later’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anyone who regularly gets a prescription is being told they could be making a huge saving by signing up to an NHS scheme. Martin Lewis\u2019 MSE site today flagged up<\/a> the fact that almost 900,000 patients could be missing out according to analysis.<\/p>\n

The NHS prescription prepayment scheme<\/a> was established as a way of helping patients in England save money on the cost of their prescriptions. An NHS prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) is essentially a prepaid card, which you can show to the pharmacist when you go to collect your prescription medication.<\/p>\n

In England a prescription it costs \u00a39.90 a time and sometimes people will have to pay for multiple items at the same time. Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: \u201cWe need to spread the word to anyone in England who regularly gets prescriptions \u2013 including some with chronic illnesses \u2013 to check out prepayment certificates.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/b> Martin Lewis gives \u00a311,500 winter fuel payment threshold ‘change’ opinion and adds ‘doesn\u2019t fix worst problem’<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/b> DWP PIP cuts update as officials respond on calls for those who ‘cannot work’ to be excluded<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd do it sooner rather than later. Doing it now would mean you pay less for longer. My simple rule of thumb is if you get more than one prescription a month on average, a prepayment certificate is the cheapest option as it caps what you pay. They give you unlimited prescriptions for either three months or a year. For someone using an average of two prescriptions a month, it\u2019d be a \u00a3120 saving and it\u2019d reduce the worry if you needed more, as you wouldn\u2019t have to shell out more.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the NHS, an estimated 872,000 patients could potentially have saved around \u00a335 million (\u00a341 each on average) in 2023\/24 by purchasing a 12-month PPC. There are two prepayment options \u2013 once you\u2019ve got one, it covers all your prescriptions in that time. For the first time since 2022, prices are frozen for 2025 and listed below.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a PPC specifically for hormone replacement therapy:<\/p>\n

12-month HRT prepayment certificate – \u00a319.80<\/p>\n

Someone who gets two prescriptions each month for 12 months would save more than \u00a3100, compared with paying for individual prescriptions. See our table below for more help comparing costs.<\/p>\n

Apply via the NHS Prescriptions site. You can pay by card, or by direct debit if you\u2019d prefer to spread the cost. Forms are also available at certain pharmacies, or alternatively call 0300 330 1341.<\/p>\n

Before you apply for your PPC<\/p>\n

One thing to make sure of before you apply for your NHS prepayment certificate is that you are not already entitled to free prescriptions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prescriptions are free to all residents of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They are also free to anyone under 16 or over 60 (or between 16 and 18 and in full-time education). Patients with certain medical conditions or disabilities can also benefit from free prescriptions, as can people on a low income or specific benefits.<\/p>\n

Applying for a PPC<\/p>\n

Online<\/b>
The easiest way to get your NHS prepayment certificate is to apply online, click here <\/a>to find out more.<\/p>\n

By post<\/b>
You can also apply for your certificate through the post. Download the FP95 form here<\/a>, or pick one up in a pharmacy or doctor\u2019s surgery. You should fill out the form and send it to:<\/p>\n

PPC
NHS Business Services Authority
152 Pilgrim Street
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 6SN<\/p>\n

You can pay by cheque or postal order, or set up a Direct Debit if you are applying for the 12-month certificate.<\/p>\n

On the phone<\/b>
To apply for your certificate over the phone, call this number: 0300 330 1341. You\u2019ll need a bank card to hand to arrange payment.<\/p>\n

In a pharmacy<\/b><\/p>\n

If you would rather apply for your certificate in person, you can go into a participating pharmacy with the FP95 application form. If you choose to do this you will have to pay at the till, and will not be able to opt for the 12-month Direct Debit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anyone who regularly gets a prescription is being told they could be making a huge saving by signing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4315],"tags":[105,1059,4326,39862,39863,39864,39861,4556,39865,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-82392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-martin-lewis","10":"tag-medication","11":"tag-nhs-prepayment-certificate","12":"tag-nhs-prescription","13":"tag-ppc","14":"tag-prepayment-certificate","15":"tag-prescription","16":"tag-prescription-medication","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}