Women in England can now access cheaper Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to help with menopause symptoms following the launch of a new Government scheme.
The roll out of the new HRT prepayment certificate (PPC) started on April 1 and will reduce prescription costs to £19.30 per year, against a list of eligible HRT items including patches, tablets and topical preparations.
The Government said that the new prepayment certificate will help around 400,000 women save hundreds of pounds annually and make HRT more accessible.
Health secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘Menopause care is essential healthcare, and we are ensuring cost is no longer a barrier to women getting the medicines they need.
‘Better access to HRT will improve the lives of millions and gives women the freedom to take control of their symptoms.’
Minister for women’s health strategy Maria Caulfield said: ‘We have made great progress in raising the profile of health issues affecting women, including symptoms of the menopause.
‘Often it’s necessary to use more than one type of HRT, and many women I have spoken to needed to try a few different types to get the right medication that works for them.
‘Everyone is different, and price should not be a barrier to treatment – reducing the price of a year’s worth of HRT to under £20 is a huge moment of levelling the playing field.’
Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Women’s Health Ambassador for England, said that many women do not realise that they are going through the menopause.
She added: ‘Helping to make them aware about the inevitability of becoming menopausal, is an important first step. The next step is improving awareness that HRT may be an option to help women manage this stage of their life course.
‘Making HRT easier to access will significantly improve the lives of many women who choose to use it, enabling them to reach their full potential.’
The certificate is available online and in some pharmacies, and can be used as many times as needed per year.
In January, the Government rejected a recommendation to introduce mandatory menopause training for GPs, saying ‘it is not necessary.’
Last year, the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee recommended that the menopause is be given ‘more priority’ in initial training for GPs and a ‘mandatory aspect’ of continuing GP professional development.
But the Government responded to the report saying it is not within its remit to require every GP surgery has training on menopause.
Whilst many with non exempt medical conditions continue to pay full prescription charges – celebrity meeting naked political maneuvering.
Government working to increase the rate of postmenopausal breast cancer.