Help with health costs - Can I get Help with health costs?

Benefits that qualify you for help with health costs

You will qualify for full help with health costs if you get:

• Income Support
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance(ESA)
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit
• Universal Credit if you live in Wales. If you live in England or Scotland, getting Universal Credit will qualify you for full help if you have no earnings or your earnings are below a certain level. Please see NHS England website or the Scottish Government website for further details
• If you are getting Working Tax Credit and/or Child Tax Credit, you may get help.

Other people who might qualify

Some people may qualify for help whatever their income. 

For example, you can get free prescriptions if you:

• Live in Wales or Scotland
• are over 60 in England
• are having treatment for cancer.

You can also get free prescriptions and dental treatment if you:

• are pregnant
• have had a baby in the last twelve months and have a valid exemption certificate (you will still qualify if you had a miscarriage after the 24th week of pregnancy, or your baby was stillborn).

You can check what help you can get by using NHS eligibility checker tool.

NHS Low Income Scheme

If you are on a low income but you do not qualify for full help through entitlement to one of the benefits listed above, you may be able to get help under the NHS low income scheme.   

For more information see the Low Income Scheme page of the NHS Business Services Authority website 

Reviewed: December 2022