10142 prescription charges

Can anyone advise me as to what the Italian health service charges for items of medication,assuming I have residency,have filed my 121 form and have reached pensionable age.

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Unless you hold an Exemption Certificate for certain medications for things like heart/kidney problems then you have to pay a small sum towards each item regardless of age. Maybe €1 or €2 per item. If your total annual income is [I]below[/I] a certain level then you can sign a printed declaration (obtainable from local ASL offices) which allows a further discount. If you submit a '730' tax return then save your prescription reciepts for when you do your annual tax return. You can claim against that expense.

[url=http://www.justlanded.com/english/Italy/Tools/Just-Landed-Guide/Health/Medicines-Chemists]Italy Guide: Medicines & Chemists, How to get medication in Italy Medicines ( medicine) prescribed by a doctor[/url]

This article provides a guide to prescription costs - as you can see it depends upon how the drug is classified and the actual cost of the drug as you pay a percentage. As with the UK there are exemptions to prescription charges but this can vary from region to region! Common over the counter medicines such as Ibuprofen, Aspirin, paracetamol, antacids etc are much, much cheaper in the UK so it is worth stocking up beforehand.

[quote=Frederick3;94429]What is "Form 121" and where is it obtained and filed?[/quote]

[url=http://www.expathealthdirect.co.uk/eforms.htm]Affiliation to CPAM[/url]

This explains all the 'E' forms - they are essentially forms for EU citizens proving their rights to health care in their home country and rights to reciprocal health care in other EU countries. Although the site refers to France (sorry!), the forms are the same

[quote=Carole B;94377]Unless you hold an Exemption Certificate for certain medications for things like heart/kidney problems then you have to pay a small sum towards each item regardless of age. Maybe €1 or €2 per item. [/quote]

We have found that you don't pay anything for items you get on the red impregnativo- this includes an €85 asthma inhaler. Something else anypne who is paying tax here should know is that if you keep the reciepts for items you get on a "foglio" (along with the foglio to prove that your doctor has prescribed it) you can claim it back against your taxe (along with any payments you make for medical visits0

[quote=HelenMW;94554]We have found that you don't pay anything for items you get on the red impregnativo- this includes an €85 asthma inhaler. Something else anypne who is paying tax here should know is that if you keep the reciepts for items you get on a "foglio" (along with the foglio to prove that your doctor has prescribed it) you can claim it back against your taxe (along with any payments you make for medical visits0[/quote]

I can't understand this as I need to take a total of eight different medications. I hold an 'exemption certificate' for four of these (plus all blood tests), so am issued red prescriptions (marked 'exempt') for these and am given three boxes of each. Included is an inhaler at €34 each. For all of these there is no charge.

The remaining four medications are prescribed on the standard red prescrition form too - but only two of each are allowed. A small contribution is charged on each of these items and I can use the till receipt towards my annual '730' tax return.

I am a pensioner and am over 65 but that makes no diffference at all with the last four drugs - WITH ONE EXCEPTION - my annual flu jab is free of charge due to my age. (But that was free before I was 65 too, due to my heart and lung disabilities).

I'm wondering if this anomaly is due to th fact that some of my prescribed drugs are D.O.C. and [I]not[/I] generic drugs and so I am actually paying the difference between the cost of one and the other! I mus ask my chemist...

[quote=Carole B;94562]I can't understand this as I need to take a total of eight different medications. I hold an 'exemption certificate' for four of these (plus all blood tests), so am issued red prescriptions (marked 'exempt') for these and am given three boxes of each. Included is an inhaler at €34 each. For all of these there is no charge.

The remaining four medications are prescribed on the standard red prescrition form too - but only two of each are allowed. A small contribution is charged on each of these items and I can use the till receipt towards my annual '730' tax return.

I am a pensioner and am over 65 but that makes no diffference at all with the last four drugs - WITH ONE EXCEPTION - my annual flu jab is free of charge due to my age. (But that was free before I was 65 too, due to my heart and lung disabilities).

I'm wondering if this anomaly is due to th fact that some of my prescribed drugs are D.O.C. and [I]not[/I] generic drugs and so I am actually paying the difference between the cost of one and the other! I mus ask my chemist...[/quote]

There are regional differences re exemptions- [url=http://www.ministerosalute.it/esenzioniTicket/paginaInternaEsenzioniTicket.jsp?id=1005&lingua=italiano&menu=link]Ministero della Salute - Esenzioni dal ticket[/url]
and I have been told that the same drug can be classified differently in 2 different regions.