PEOPLE over 60 could face being charged for prescriptions under proposals considered by the government.

Ministers are considering raising the age of eligibility for free prescriptions from 60 to 66, to provide more income for the NHS to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Health Minister James Bethell said that the proposed change would bring eligibility back into line with the state pension age.

“Prescription charges are an important source of income for the NHS, and the costs of providing free prescriptions continue to increase with our ageing population,” he added.

However, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has raised concerns that the proposals will amount to a “tax on the sick”.

Thorrun Govind, chair of the RPS in England, said: “We are deeply concerned that even more people will have to make choices about their health based on their ability to pay.

“Every day pharmacists are asked by patients who are unable to afford all the items in their prescription which ones they could ‘do without’.

“Patients shouldn’t have to make choices which involve rationing their medicines. No-one should be faced with a financial barrier to getting the medicines they need.”

In England, people receive free prescriptions when they turn 60, while the state pension age is currently 66 and set to rise to 68 by 2039.

It is estimated that raising the eligibility age would raise up to £300 million for the NHS by 2026/2027.

A consultation on the proposal is currently open and will run for eight weeks.