Health costs
If you are aged 19 or over and receive NHS treatment you will be asked to pay for prescriptions and some health care services unless you meet certain exemption criteria. This section explains how to find out if you are entitled to help with health costs and provides information about health insurance for those who are not entitled to full NHS care.
Visit our section on health care to find out if you are entitled to NHS care.
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Help towards health costs
Depending on your circumstances, you may be exempt from health charges or may be able to claim for help towards them.
To help you find out what you are entitled to free of charge and what financial help you may be eligible to receive, download Help with health costs (leaflet HC11).
How to claim
To make a claim for help towards health costs, you need to complete an HC1 form and return it to the Health Benefits Division. The HC1 form is not available on the web. To get the form and a pre-paid return envelope, call the Health Costs Helpline on 0845 850 1166 (8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday - calls are charged at the local rate). You may also be able to get the form from local benefits offices, Jobcentre Plus offices, doctors surgeries and dentists.
If you are eligible for a full exemption from charges, you will be sent an HC2 certificate.
If you are eligible for a partial exemption, you will be sent an HC3 certificate which gives details of how much you will be expected to pay towards each type of health cost.
Refunds
If entitled, you can claim a refund for prescription charges, other NHS medical charges and travel costs. Claims must be made within three months of the date you paid the charge.
Always obtain a receipt for any health payments you make. When you pay for a prescription, ask the pharmacist, hospital or doctor for an NHS receipt form FP57. Ask your dentists for the NHS receipt form FP64. These receipt forms also tell you how to claim.
You may also be asked to complete and return form HC5, particularly if you are claiming a refund:
- for other medical charges
- on the grounds of low income
- for travel costs.
The HC5 form is not available on the web. To get the form and a pre-paid return envelope, call the Health Costs Helpline on 0845 850 1166 (8.00am to 6pm, Monday to Friday - calls are charged at the local rate). You may also be able to get the form from local benefits offices, Jobcentre Plus offices, doctors surgeries and dentists.
Reduce the cost of regular prescriptions
If you are not entitled to free prescriptions and regularly need more than one prescription per month, Prescription Pre-payment Certificates (PPCs) can help reduce the cost. You can pay for a PPC which lasts 4 months or a year.
Find out more about PPCs, how much they cost and how to get one.
Health insurance
If you are not entitled to free NHS treatment, or are only eligible for limited treatment, we would advise you to take out adequate medical insurance to cover the costs if you fall ill, and to cover the additional possible costs which may result from your illness.
If you are from overseas and have medical insurance in your home country, check whether you can extend it to cover your stay in the UK. Endsleigh Insurance, in association with UKCISA (The UK Council for International Student Affairs), have produced a special health insurance policy for international students studying in the UK.
