How to help women benefit from new policy on cheaper HRT

Advice and Information - 5 April 2023

The new prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has proved popular, with 37,700 being purchased online by women within the first few days of its launch on 1 April.

The demand caused the website of the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) to temporarily crash. But the HRT PPC is not just available to purchase online, so local Healthwatch might consider sharing information with communities about various access routes. This could help close the health inequalities gap, which has historically seen higher levels of HRT prescribing in more affluent areas.

The HRT PPC caps the cost of a year's HRT prescriptions to just £19.30 (the equivalent of two prescription items). Around 400,000 women could benefit from this change, so we've compiled information you can share on various access routes, depending on women's needs:

ACCESS ROUTES TO GET A HRT PPC:

  • online on the NHSBSA website: www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/hrt-ppc

  • in person at some pharmacies

  • if you’re deaf or hard of hearing, you will be able to use the textphone (or minicom) to contact the NHSBSA using the text relay service.  Dial 18001 then the relevant phone number

  • the NHSBSA also offers a telephone translation service and can provide documents in large print or Braille on request

  • Patients can also call 0300 330 2089 for help and support.

BEFORE GETTING THE HRT PPC:

  • women should check whether they are already entitled to free NHS prescriptions generally (by age or because they have a certain medical condition) using the eligibility checker on the NHSBSA website

  • women should check if their prescribed type of HRT is eligible to be covered by the HRT PPC (testosterone, for example, sometimes prescribed for certain symptoms, isn't)

  • women should consider whether a 3 or 12-month general PPC covering all types of medication, including HRT, is more cost-effective, especially if they're being treated for long-term conditions as well as menopausal symptoms.

While the HRT PPC is a welcome and long overdue step, we know that women also face other access barriers such as getting a GP appointment in the first place, having their symptoms taken seriously by clinicians, or being certain that their local pharmacy will have consistent supplies of HRT. 

Help with NHS prescription costs

Article written by Rebecca Curtayne, Public Affairs Officer at Healthwatch England

Image credit: Canva

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