Connect with us

Business

Free prescriptions: Full list of groups eligible for NHS schemes | Personal Finance | Finance

Published

on


While living costs remain high, claiming financial support – if eligible – is more important than ever. Certain Britons can knock hundreds of pounds off medication costs annually by making the most of the NHS’ schemes.

People who are eligible for free prescriptions can also benefit from free over-the-counter medication too in certain pharmacies with the NHS’ Minor Ailment Scheme, so it could pay for people to know the qualifying criteria.

The price of an NHS prescription increased this year to £9.65 per item, and for those who need several items frequently, this can mount up.

Age, benefits, or a valid exemption certificate are all important factors that determine whether someone can claim medication for free, and here’s the full list of groups.

Who is eligible for free NHS prescriptions?

While most NHS treatment is free, there are certain services that people have to pay for, such as dentist appointments, prescriptions, and eyesight tests to name a few.

However, the groups that can get these services for free include those who:

  • Are under 16
  • Are aged 16 to 18 and in full-time education
  • Are pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months
  • Are registered disabled and are unable to go out
  • Have a war pension exemption certificate
  • Are an NHS inpatient
  • Receive Income Support
  • Receive Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Receive Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Receive Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
  • Receive Universal Credit (UC) and their earnings during their last assessment period were £435 or less, or £935 or less if their UC includes an element for a child or they have limited capability for work
  • Own a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate
  • Have a valid NHS certificate for full help with health costs (HC2).
  • Have certain illnesses including cancer and epilepsy
  • Are aged 60 or over.

For further clarification on eligibility, people can use the NHS tool that allows them to check – in three minutes – more accurately.

Those eligible for a free prescription could also pick up over-the-counter medicine for free, such as treatment for minor and common illnesses. This is available through the NHS Minor Ailment Scheme.

What is the NHS Minor Ailment Scheme

Certain pharmacies, including some Boots stores, offer a Minor Ailment Scheme, which enables them to provide people who don’t pay for prescriptions with medicines for minor illnesses for free on the NHS.

The scheme is currently widely available across Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, but only in selected pharmacies across England.

The medicines covered by the scheme can also differ depending on where the person lives, so people are suggested to talk to their local pharmacy directly to find out what they offer.

To claim free medicine, people may need to bring proof that they don’t normally have to pay prescription charges.

However, it’s important for people to be sure their circumstances permit them to claim to avoid facing a steep penalty.

Alison O’Brien, head of loss recovery services, from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), a body that helps manage the NHS’ spend, said: “The NHSBSA checks claims randomly and retrospectively in order to appropriately recover funds and returns them to NHS services.

“We encourage all patients to check their entitlement before claiming free prescriptions and our online tool provides support to understand if they are eligible.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Sensex Jumps 1,000 Points, Nifty Breaches 25,000 After Trading Flat Till Noon

CHANNEL TODAY BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Published

on




New Delhi:

Sensex jumped past 1,000 points today after trading flat till noon. Nifty too soared by rising over 1.5 per cent and breached 25,000 for the first time since October 17 in 2024. 

Sensex was up 1,260.14 points at 1:55 pm while Nifty was up 396.55 points at 25,063.45.

Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade in the morning, dragged down by blue-chip bank stocks and weak trends in Asian markets.

The 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex declined 106.78 points to 81,223.78 in early trade. The NSE Nifty dipped 38.45 points to 24,628.45.

Later, the BSE benchmark traded 247.22 points lower at 81,082.80, and the Nifty quoted 67.15 points down at 24,599.75.

From the Sensex firms, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.

Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading lower.

US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 2.10 per cent to USD 64.70 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 931.80 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex climbed 182.34 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 81,330.56. The Nifty rose by 88.55 points or 0.36 per cent to 24,666.90. 





Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Sensex Up 281 Points As Retail Inflation Drops To 6-Year Low In April

CHANNEL TODAY BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Published

on




Mumbai:

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded in early trade on Wednesday as retail inflation eased to a nearly six-year low of 3.16 per cent in April, creating enough room for the Reserve Bank to go for another round of rate cut in the June monetary policy review.

Also, a cooling US April inflation data added to the positive trend in the equity markets.

The 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex climbed 281.43 points to 81,429.65 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 96.65 points to 24,675.

From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv and Reliance Industries were the major gainers.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel climbed over 2 per cent after it posted about a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 11,022 crore in the March 2025 quarter, mainly due to the tariff hike impact and one-time gain on tax benefits.

However, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Nestle and IndusInd Bank were among the laggards.

Tata Motors dipped over 1 per cent after the firm reported a 51 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,556 crore for the March quarter, hit by lower volumes and operating leverage.

“A strong tailwind for the Indian market is the sharp dip in April CPI inflation to 3.16 per cent. This leaves enough room for the MPC to cut rates thrice more in this cutting cycle. This is positive for the market in general and rate sensitives in particular,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Retail inflation eased to a nearly six-year low of 3.16 per cent in April mainly due to subdued prices of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and other protein-rich items, creating enough room for the Reserve Bank to go for another round of rate cut in the June monetary policy review.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was 3.34 per cent in March and 4.83 per cent in April 2024. It was 3.15 per cent in July 2019.

“These developments (India, US inflation data) are likely to boost investor sentiment. In addition, easing trade tensions between the US and China, as well as a reduction in geopolitical frictions between India and Pakistan, are supportive of a favorable market environment,” Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities, said in his pre-open market quote.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading higher while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index quoted lower.

US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.57 per cent to USD 66.25 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 476.86 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

On Tuesday, the Sensex tanked 1,281.68 points or 1.55 per cent to settle at 81,148.22. The broader Nifty of NSE dropped 346.35 points or 1.39 per cent to 24,578.35.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)




Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Wholesale Inflation Falls To 0.85% In April

CHANNEL TODAY BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Published

on




New Delhi:

Wholesale price inflation dropped to 0.85 per cent in April as prices of food articles, manufactured products, and fuel eased, government data showed on Wednesday.

WPI-based inflation was 2.05 per cent in March. It was 1.19 per cent in April last year. ” Positive rate of inflation in April, 2025 is primarily due to an increase in prices of manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, chemicals and chemical products, manufacture of other transport equipment and manufacture of machinery and equipment, etc,” the industry ministry said in a statement.

As per the WPI (Wholesale price index ) data, food articles saw a deflation of 0.86 per cent in April from an inflation of 1.57 per cent in March, with vegetables seeing a sharp drop. Deflation in vegetables was 18.26 per cent during April compared to deflation of 15.88 per cent in March. In onion, inflation eased to 0.20 per cent in April, as against 26.65 per cent in March.

Manufactured products, however, saw inflation at 2.62 per cent in April, compared to 3.07 per cent in March.

Fuel and power too saw a deflation of 2.18 per cent in April, compared to 0.20 per cent in March.

The RBI mainly takes into account retail inflation while formulating monetary policy. Data released on Tuesday showed, retail inflation eased to 3.16 per cent in April mainly due subdued prices of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and other protein-rich items. This is the lowest level of inflation since July 2019.

Easing of inflation would create enough room for the Reserve Bank to go in for another round of rate cut in the June monetary policy review.

In April, the RBI cut the benchmark policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 6 per cent. This is the second cut during the year to stimulate the economy, facing the threat of US reciprocal tariffs. The RBI sees retail inflation averaging 4 per cent in the current fiscal from the previous estimate of 4.2 per cent.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)




Source link

Continue Reading

Trending