§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now extend the definition of the chronic sick to entitle all chronic sick to free prescriptions.
§ Dr. VaughanThe list of "specified medical conditions" which attract free prescriptions already provides for some of the chronic sick; others obtain free prescriptions under one of the other exemption categories. I receive many requests to extend exemptions to various groups of patients, including those suffering from chronic conditions, but I have no plans to make any change.
People requiring a lot of medicine who are not entitled to exemption can limit their outlay on prescriptions by purchasing a prepayment certificate—a "season ticket."