Free prescriptions?
8 October 2024
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Energy and Environment
In the Media
Economic Theory
9 October 2024
Kristian Niemietz quoted in The Telegraph
The IEA’s Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy, Dr. Kristian Niemietz, was quoted in The Telegraph commenting on the need for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to delay senior prescription benefits from 60 to 65.
The article said:
“Rachel Reeves is under pressure to scrap free prescriptions for 60- to 65-year-olds in a move that could raise more than £6bn for the Treasury. The Intergenerational Foundation charity said free prescriptions should be aligned to the state pension age of 66 to help plug a £22bn deficit in the economy. A government report in 2021 found that raising the threshold would raise £6.2bn over 10 years.
“Dr Kristian Niemietz, an academic at the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) think tank, added: ‘Labour’s electoral base is heavily biased towards young and middle-aged voters. They don’t do well among the over 65-year-olds, and that’s unlikely to change, so that age group is probably an easier target for them, for fiscal savings.’ He said that it could suit Labour’s electoral purposes to curtail the benefit, as their electoral base is biassed towards younger and middle-aged voters.
Dr Niemietz added: ‘They wouldn’t want pensioner poverty to go up, but means-testing old-age benefits is a way to make fiscal savings while insulating the poorest from cuts’…In England, the vast majority of patients pay for medication…Scottish and Welsh patients are all entitled to free prescriptions, at a cost of £270m to the the English taxpayer. Telegraph analysis revealed earlier this year.”
“Dr Niemietz added: ‘I would not exempt people on the basis of age per se. I would exempt them on the basis of being poor, or on the basis of being sick, but not on the basis of having been born before a particular year.’ The Department of Health and Social Care said there were no immediate plans to change the eligibility criteria for prescriptions.”
You can read the full article here.
The article said:
“Rachel Reeves is under pressure to scrap free prescriptions for 60- to 65-year-olds in a move that could raise more than £6bn for the Treasury. The Intergenerational Foundation charity said free prescriptions should be aligned to the state pension age of 66 to help plug a £22bn deficit in the economy. A government report in 2021 found that raising the threshold would raise £6.2bn over 10 years.
“Dr Kristian Niemietz, an academic at the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) think tank, added: ‘Labour’s electoral base is heavily biased towards young and middle-aged voters. They don’t do well among the over 65-year-olds, and that’s unlikely to change, so that age group is probably an easier target for them, for fiscal savings.’ He said that it could suit Labour’s electoral purposes to curtail the benefit, as their electoral base is biassed towards younger and middle-aged voters.
Dr Niemietz added: ‘They wouldn’t want pensioner poverty to go up, but means-testing old-age benefits is a way to make fiscal savings while insulating the poorest from cuts’…In England, the vast majority of patients pay for medication…Scottish and Welsh patients are all entitled to free prescriptions, at a cost of £270m to the the English taxpayer. Telegraph analysis revealed earlier this year.”
“Dr Niemietz added: ‘I would not exempt people on the basis of age per se. I would exempt them on the basis of being poor, or on the basis of being sick, but not on the basis of having been born before a particular year.’ The Department of Health and Social Care said there were no immediate plans to change the eligibility criteria for prescriptions.”
You can read the full article here.
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