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Paid for by the UK taxpayer

The health secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced that he will be putting the price on prescription medicines priced over £20. They will also feature the words 'paid for by the UK taxpayer'. Is it a good thing or will it just alienate those that have long term health conditions?

Potentially both I think. I think that if people understood the real cost of their medication they would value it more. For example, when I found out how much my morphine patchs cost (over £5000 for a 3 month supply!) I was astonished. It made me appreciate how much the GP surgery, and the NHS overall, was spending to help support me in managing my long term health condition. So maybe if the price was printed on antibiotics for example, people would be more likely to complete the course rather than throw those last few in the bin once they start feeling better. 

However, the words 'paid for by the UK taxpayer' to me has a slightly accusatory tone. A you should be grateful kind of feel to it. And yes, most people have a deep set admiration and gratitude for the NHS and the fact that it's free at the point of use for everybody. But I've paid my taxes. I might not be working at the moment but I've worked since I was 15 and paid huge amounts of tax into the coffers, as has my husband. Now I'm no longer able to work should I feel bad that I'm not contributing towards the cost of my medication? 

Or is it there as a simple reminder that every packet of pills or bottle of medicine prescribed takes a little bit of money out of the NHS pot. A reminder that there isn't a money tree at the bottom of Downing Street to pay for the ever increasing needs of the NHS? Or should our attention turn to the pharmaceutical industry who some argue have a cartel causing prices of drugs to remain high? Is it their right to price what are in some cases life saving drugs however they like? Should there be more pressure lobbied against them to reduce their prices and therefore reduce amount of money the NHS is spending on buying medication from them?

What do you think?

NB x
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