Request

Under the Freedom of Information Act, please provide full details:

(a) as to the number of citizens who have claimed prepayment certificate when collecting medication who have subsequently been told their certificate had not been renewed by the NHSBSA for each year for the last ten years.

(b)The total monies collected in penalty charges for people turning 60 where the NHSBSA did not renew their prepayment certificate.

Response

I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by the NHSBSA.

The NHSBSA only check to see if there is a valid exemption for the time the treatment took place. These checks do not show if the patient held a previous certificate which had expired or has not been renewed. Therefore, we do not hold figures which will identify patients who have been affected by charges due to autorenewal ceasing.

Since the service first started, the decision has always been not to renew certificates for those turning 60 within the following 9 months. This was to give the opportunity to decide whether a 12-month certificate was required or whether 3-month certificates were more beneficial and cost effective for the applicant.

Advice and assistance

Full terms and conditions on the pre-payment certificates can be found on our website: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/nhs-prescription-prepayment-certificate-ppc/terms-and-conditions