Prescription Drug Charge To Rise

BMI View: While the sum of GBP450mn (US$728mn) - the income earned by the government as a result of the prescription charge in England - is relatively small when compared with its overall expenditure on healthcare (GBP112.75bn (US$174.77bn) in 2010), the decision to maintain and increase the charge is underpinned by the poor state of public finances, which will see the UK's economy undergo prolonged fiscal adjustments. In October 2010, the government announced its decision to eradicate the GBP109.0bn (US$176.40bn) structural deficit by the end of the parliamentary term in 2015. BMI notes that while the National Health Service (NHS)

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