Obviously the cheapest way of cutting down on health care is to stay healthy by eating a good diet, keeping hydrated, getting regular exercise and plenty of sleep.
Some people aren’t so lucky though. So if you need to take medicines as a one-off or on a regular basis, here’re the Top 5 ways to save money on your medicines and health care.
Top 5 Ways To Reduce Your Medicine Costs
1. Buy Generic Drugs
Generic drugs are essentially the same as brand name products and contain the same active ingredient. They work out cheaper because the companies haven’t had to pay the marketing and advertising costs involved with branded products.
Example: You can buy 48 Ibuprofen 200mg tablets for 99p, rather than £1.25 for 16 Nurofen 200mg tablets.
2. Buy Online
There are several online pharmacies that offer real value for money. I recently paid £7.10 (now £7.20 since 1st April 2009) for a prescription for some antibiotics. I could have bought these online for £3.08 (with free delivery) - a fraction of the cost!
It’s a really simple system. Just select from an NHS or Private prescription, give your delivery information, send your prescription FREEPOST and wait for your medicines to arrive.
2 good ones to try are:
- Chemist Direct
- Pharmacy2U
Free 1st class delivery which takes 1-3 days; Option to pay for Next Day Delivery if you’re in a hurry; Your order arrives in discreet and unmarked packaging.
Same online system as Chemist Direct but search facility not as good; Contact phone number for any enquiries; Free UK Delivery on all NHS Prescriptions; Free UK Delivery for non-prescription orders over £45.
3. Get A Prescription Prepayment Certificate
Are you paying for over 3 prescription items in 3 months, or 14 items in 12 months? Then consider getting a Prescription Prepayment certificate (PPC). It covers the cost of your NHS prescriptions, no matter how may items you need, saving you money.
The charge for a single prescription item is £7.20, but a 3 month PPC will cost you £28.25 and a 12 month PPC costs £104.00. Set up a Direct Debit so you can spread the annual cost evenly with 10 monthly installments of £10.40.
Read the useful information on the NHS website: Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPC).
N.B. Some people are eligible for free prescriptions depending on age, income or medical grounds so make sure you check before buying a PPC.
4. Buy in Bulk
If you’re unfortunate enough to have to take medication on an ongoing basis you could consider buying online in bulk. Your doctor may be able to write you a prescription to cover a longer period. Buying in bulk will cut down on costs long-term.
5. Top-up Fees
As of November 2008 UK residents are allowed to pay for additional medicines and not lose out on NHS treatment. This is great news and means that NHS patients, especially those suffering from terminal illnesses, will have more drugs available to them.
Visit the NHS website where they have a useful Top-up Fee Q&A section.
Health Insurance
If you’re in a position to, you can get Health Insurance for you and your family through companies such as BUPA.
Health Insurance plans cover for those treatments not covered by the NHS such as:
- Prescription charges and certain cancer drugs
- Dental treatment
- Optical treatment
- Emergency treatment when holidaying overseas
- Cosmetic surgery that could be required following an accident
Companies such as WPA offer these Health Top-up Care plans to make sure if you do need treatment, you can get it.
(Image from worak on Flickr)
2 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
Great post!
I have just stumbled upon your blog and will definately be subscribing!
Looking forward to reading more.
Thanks,
Katie
or …move to Wales where prescriptions are free!! (I knew there had to be SOME point to having Welsh Assembly..)