DPS and contraception

cch

I reckon this is the forum where people might have the answer I'm looking for!

I've been on the pill (not one of the usual suspects, think it's relatively new) for about a year now but yesterday when I went to get it and other things I was told it wasn't covered by DPS anymore as previous claims had been rejected by them. So I just mumbled "oh ok" and paid, in case they asked me to pay for the previous months too! I don't reach the 85 limit every month, and have varied between two pharmacies over the last year, but my question is whether other forms of medical contraception are covered by DPS?

My paranoid mind thinks it may be a throwback to archaic times and the legislation may be, ahem, influenced by the church. Something similar to the VAT on condoms because they're classed as a "luxury" item :rolleyes:
Or can anyone give me another explanation?

tbh

are you using the pill for medical reasons, or purely for contraception?
being honest, I'm surprised that the scheme ever covered contraception, in the eyes of the law it could be seen as being something you want, rather than something you need to live, if you know what I mean.

I heard on the radio this morning that Brian Cowen is going to look at the VAT on condoms, but I've heard that before.

cch

tbh wrote: »

are you using the pill for medical reasons, or purely for contraception?

Both! Have been told if I got pregnant now I would have a miserable nine months. Doesn't help that we're both broody as hell!

tbh wrote: »

being honest, I'm surprised that the scheme ever covered contraception, in the eyes of the law it could be seen as being something you want, rather than something you need to live, if you know what I mean.

That's what I was thinking too, which is why I was wondering if other people had other brands covered by the scheme. This is the only one I can take, when I first started taking it I was told it was over 60 euro a month :eek:
Even yesterday it was 26 euro for one month's supply...

tbh wrote: »

I heard on the radio this morning that Brian Cowen is going to look at the VAT on condoms, but I've heard that before.

my father paid the 80 or so every month and he got his medication i also got my pill for 3 years on it

redfacedbear

My wife's pill (Yasmin) is included in our €85 allowance

aluapnaej

DPS covers all prescribed medication - nothing to do with whether you think it's a luxury or not.

Maybe there was a problem with your DPS number. If you don't go over the 85 a month, it doesn't even get sent to be claimed from the GMS Board.
HTH.

nesf

aluapnaej wrote: »

DPS covers all prescribed medication - nothing to do with whether you think it's a luxury or not.

As far as I know it doesn't cover all medication.

Fast_Mover

I had to get quite a few vaccinations due to me going to Africa in January.
The doctor would write the prescription and I would take that to the chemist to get it filled. It was not covered by the DPS.

aluapnaej

Vaccines come under a bit of a grey area along with things like dressings - neither are considered as "medication" by the GMS board unfortunately. Pity really.

Fast_Mover

aluapnaej wrote: »

Pity really.

Yes, as they're so damn expensive!!!:D

cch

Thanks for the replies everyone, seems like it's very much open to interpretation, will just ask doc next time I'm back...

But I went to the chemist yesterday and the limit is now €90! :eek: When did that happen? Did they sneak it through in the budget?

nesf

cch wrote: »

But I went to the chemist yesterday and the limit is now €90! :eek: When did that happen? Did they sneak it through in the budget?

It was all over the papers...

cch

nesf wrote: »

It was all over the papers...

I guess reading news mostly online means I miss the public service ads like that...

nesf

cch wrote: »

I guess reading news mostly online means I miss the public service ads like that...

I don't know, I read all my news online and read a lot about it. The budget being one of those things that tends to get reported about in depth.

spurious

I got the Mirena IUS (for medical reasons) and it was covered under the DPS.

They sent me a few hundred of tax back to do with DPS payments just before Christmas - I never applied for it, a nice surprise.

The_Conductor

nesf wrote:

As far as I know it doesn't cover all medication.

Correct. They did a massive cutback on what you could claim- as the DPS schemes are classified as "Demand Led Expenditure" and it has risen by close on 500% in the past 4 years. This was a combination of making things available over the counter (and thus unclaimable) and also by simply knocking whole classes of drugs off the scheme altogether (thankfully sense prevailed and some of the more ridiculous decisions like prednisolone/budenofalk and some others were subsequently reinstated). The days are gone when you could wander into the pharmacy with a veritable shopping list for your (now 90 Euro) money.