I have posted the entire letter, basically it all goes up on the 1st of April.
CHANGES TO PRESCRIPTION AND DENTAL CHARGES AND OPTICAL VOUCHERS
From 1st April changes will be made to prescription charges and some dental treatments in England. The value of optical vouchers will also increase by an overall 2 per cent.
The prescription charge exemption for people being treated for cancer, the effects of cancer, or the effects of cancer treatment also comes into force from 1st April. This new scheme will benefit up to 150,000 people already diagnosed with cancer, who might otherwise pay around £100 a year in prescription charges.
The following changes will come into effect on 1st April:
Optical
Optical vouchers will increase in value by an overall 2 per cent.
Vouchers help with the cost of spectacles and contact lenses for children, people on low incomes and people with complex sight problems.
Dental
The maximum charge for complex NHS dental treatments, such as the fitting of crowns, bridges or dentures will be frozen at the existing rate of £198.
For the simplest and most common visits to the dentist, involving an examination, advice and any necessary X-rays or scale and polish, the charge will go up by 30 pence from £16.20 to £16.50.
The charge for intermediate treatments such as fillings or extractions will increase by £1 from £44.60 to £45.60.
Prescriptions
Prescription charges will increase by 10 pence from £7.10 to £7.20
Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said:
“In England, 89 per cent of prescription items are dispensed for free, the remainder provide valuable income to the NHS.
“From April 1 cancer patients will be eligible for free prescriptions. A review of how this exemption can also be extended to patients with long-term conditions is currently underway and recommendations will be made to me in the Summer”
Dental charges will change as shown:
Course of treatment
Current Charges
Charge from 1 April 2009
Band 1
£16.20
£16.50
Band 2
£44.60
£45.60
Band 3
£198.00
£198.00
NHS Prescriptions and Appliances charges will change as shown:
Item
Current Charges
Charge from 1 April 2009
Prescription
£7.10
£7.20
12-month PPC
£102.50
£104.00
3-month PPC
£27.85
£28.25
Surgical brassiere
£24.00
£24.35
Abdominal or spinal support
£36.30
£36. 80
Stock modacrylic wig
£59.20
£60.00
Partial human hair wig
£156.60
£158.90
Full bespoke human hair wig
£229.05
£232.45
People in receipt of working tax credit with child tax credit or with a disability (or severe) disability element or child tax credit on its own, are entitled to free prescriptions, free NHS dental treatment, and NHS sight tests and optical vouchers if their annual income for tax credits is below a specified level. This is currently £15,050 and will increase to £15,276 from 6 April 2009.
Prescription Prepayment Certificates offer savings for those needing 4 or more items in three months or more than 14 in one year.
Cancer patients with an exemption certificate will be entitled to free prescriptions from April this year.
The Government has established a review of prescription charges, led by Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians. In drawing its conclusions, the review will take into account the views of patients, the public, patient representative bodies, clinicians and healthcare organisations in considering how to exempt patients with long-term conditions from prescription charges
NHS charges and optical voucher values in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are a matter for the Devolved Administrations.
So we know who to blame!
Angus
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