Date published: 2008/07/04
The BBC says:
Three-quarters of people in the UK want to see prescription charges scrapped in England, a BBC poll suggests.
...
Prescription charging is the most obvious divergence of NHS policy since responsibility for healthcare was given to the Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies, and the Scottish Parliament.In England, each item costs £7.10, raising approximately £430m for health service funds.
Only 12% of prescriptions are actually paid for - the vast majority are covered by exemptions for children, pensioners and those with long-lasting medical conditions such as epilepsy.
Prescriptions have been free since 2007 in Wales, and will be free from 2011 onwards in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, the issue is "under review".
Surprise, people want something for "free", who would have thought it. Did the BBC bother to ask these people how the government was supposed to make up this £430 million?
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