# In the UK, Does Public Funding for Dialysis Patients Get Cut Off at Age 65? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776 "2012-03-14T19:48:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![socrtwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@socrtwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/socrtwo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/1 "2012-03-14T19:48:49Z")
I have a friend who went through a very painful and inconvenient five years of dialysis. He was finally able to get a donor kidney and his life has been much better since then. He heard a story that the British under there present system of socialized medicine fund dialysis for patients under the age of 65. However at 65 if you can’t afford private dialysis, your funding is cut off and you are allowed to basically die. Is this correct? ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/2 "2012-03-14T19:57:11Z")
Sure sounds like BS to me. Not the case for any such treatments in Canadian health care systems. Do you really think any government to the left of the USA is actually going to tell an otherwise healthy, alert and mobile citizen, “die, granny, die!”??? ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/3 "2012-03-14T19:58:04Z")
It is [not correct](http://www.factcheck.org/2009/07/englands-and-canadas-health-care/), no. This story has been doing the rounds for a while, though sometimes the emails refer to heart bypass surgery, stents and so on. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/4 "2012-03-14T19:58:17Z")
[No.](http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Dialysis/Pages/Introduction.aspx) Completely the opposite: > [@](#): > > Most people who have dialysis are over 65 years of age. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/5 "2012-03-14T20:02:40Z")
All I know is that Stephen Hawking wouldn’t be alive today if he’d had to be filtered through the bureaucracy of the NHS. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/6 "2012-03-14T20:06:12Z")
I know in Canada, my wife’s grandfather at 87 got a hip replacement within 12 hours after he fell and broke his hip. While a younger (57), otherwise mobile guy was on the waiting list for 16 months and various side treatments (oops, schedule operation to remove screws in thighbone first, then back of the list for you!). So the situation is jut the opposite - eldery get the same if not better treatment. There was a case (Alberta?) where the system was raked over the coals for allegedly not wanting to give a (heart?) transplant to a retarded person. However, the doctors said this was not cost/benefit decision, so much as a question of whether the person could reliably take their anti-rejection meds on schedule for the rest of their life, and other necessary lifestyle changes. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/7 "2012-03-14T21:04:02Z")
> [@socrtwo](#): > > He heard a story that the British under there present system of socialized medicine fund dialysis for patients under the age of 65. However at 65 if you can’t afford private dialysis, your funding is cut off and you are allowed to basically die. Is this correct? No it isn’t. I wouldn’t believe too much of what your “friend” “hears”. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/8 "2012-03-14T22:22:15Z")
No. The [NHS Constitution](http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_093419) prohibits almost any discrimination whatsoever on the basis of age, and always for major treatments like dialysis. Age Concern is the largest British charity designed to support the elderly as, as listed in the [FactCheck](http://www.factcheck.org/2009/07/englands-and-canadas-health-care/) link cited above, they had never heard of anyone being discriminated against for heart surgery by the NHS on the grounds of being elderly. The UK’s socialized medicine system has its drawbacks (waiting lists) and its benefits (it’s free for patients, and much cheaper overall for taxpayers than the current US system), but “death panels killing Grandma” isn’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/9 "2012-03-14T22:48:32Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > All I know is that Stephen Hawking wouldn’t be alive today if he’d had to be filtered through the bureaucracy of the NHS. 😉 Poe’s Law strikes again- I can’t tell if you’re serious or not. If you are, well… [the man disagrees with you.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6017878/Stephen-Hawking-I-would-not-be-alive-without-the-NHS.html) Edit: On second reading, I’m pretty certain you’re kidding. Sorry. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/10 "2012-03-14T22:55:32Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Poe’s Law strikes again- I can’t tell if you’re serious or not. > > If you are, well… [the man disagrees with you.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6017878/Stephen-Hawking-I-would-not-be-alive-without-the-NHS.html) > > Edit: On second reading, I’m pretty certain you’re kidding. Sorry. 🙂 Yeah, I think it comes from a newspaper article in the US which said something like “Stephen Hawking would not have a chance in the UK because of the NHS.” ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/11 "2012-03-14T23:11:46Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Yeah, I think it comes from a newspaper article in the US which said something like “Stephen Hawking would not have a chance in the UK because of the NHS.” It was an editorial in the [Investor’s Business Daily](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investor%27s_Business_Daily) in July 2009 criticizing Obama’s proposed healthcare reform by comparing it to the UK’s system, saying Stephen Hawking “wouldn’t have a chance in the U.K., where the [British] National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.” Two weeks later Hawking himself published that opinion piece in British newspaper the Daily Telegraph saying that he thinks he wouldn’t be _alive_ without the NHS. IBD quietly cut the sentence about Hawking from the online version of their article but it was far too late. To this day the gaffe still seems to hound them. ---
**Author:** ![spotthegerbil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@spotthegerbil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spotthegerbil)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/12 "2012-03-14T23:28:48Z")
No, the UK doesn’t terminate dialysis at 65. In fact [this chap](http://www.southtees.nhs.uk/UserFiles/pages/4907.pdf) only started dialysis at age 80. As well as not terminating dialysis at 65, In Scotland and Wales\*, you don’t even have to pay for prescribed medicines, regardless of the cost. Some of these drugs can be pretty expensive. ([Source - FOI request](http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/costs_of_most_expensive_prescrip)) This means that the immunosuppresant drugs used post transplant are available for free to those who need them. Wiki suggests that the cost to a kidney transplant patient in the US for a course of immunosuppresant drugs is $1500 per month. As your election looms closer, and healthcare gets debated, expect some complete BS to start flying about how the National Health Service is evil. The NHS may not be perfect, but we like it. - England still retains a prescription fee of £7.40 with exemptions for over 60’s, under 16’s and a few other specific groups. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/13 "2012-03-14T23:58:01Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#): > > It was an editorial in the [Investor’s Business Daily](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investor%27s_Business_Daily) in July 2009 criticizing Obama’s proposed healthcare reform by comparing it to the UK’s system, saying Stephen Hawking “wouldn’t have a chance in the U.K., where the [British] National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.” Two weeks later Hawking himself published that opinion piece in British newspaper the Daily Telegraph saying that he thinks he wouldn’t be _alive_ without the NHS. IBD quietly cut the sentence about Hawking from the online version of their article but it was far too late. To this day the gaffe still seems to hound them. Thanks for that. I suppose it’s an easy mistake to make, after all, Hawking _does_ speak with an American accent… ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/14 "2012-03-15T00:05:07Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Edit: On second reading, I’m pretty certain you’re kidding. Sorry. 🙂 Apparently only one winky smiley was not enough. Let me rephrase that: All I know is that Stephen Hawking wouldn’t be alive today if he’d had to be filtered through the bureaucracy of the NHS. ;););););););););)🆒🆒🆒:D:D:D:D:p:p ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/15 "2012-03-15T00:20:58Z")
> [@spotthegerbil](#): > > - England still retains a prescription fee of £7.40 with exemptions for over 60’s, under 16’s and a few other specific groups. There’s also a pre-payment [certificate](http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2422.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=161) you can buy, which costs £29.10 for three months, or £104 for a year, which you can then use to get all prescriptions at no extra charge for that time. Even if you are not entitled to free medication, you should not have to pay more than that, regardless of how many different treatments you need. Incidently, even if the waiting lists are long, people who have severe cases can dodge the queue- I recently had a microdiscectomy, for which the official regional waiting list was 10-12 weeks. I had the operation the day after seeing the consultant, as it was so severe. I’m not elderly though 😉 ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/16 "2012-03-15T01:03:59Z")
> [@spotthegerbil](#): > > \< . . . \> > > As your election looms closer, and healthcare gets debated, expect some complete BS to start flying about how the National Health Service is evil. The NHS may not be perfect, but we like it. > > \< . . . \> The fact that the OP joined today and has one-count-it-one post to its credit leads me to suspect that the SD has been the target of a drive-by fnording. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/17 "2012-03-15T13:26:33Z")
> [@socrtwo](#): > > He heard a story that the British under there present system of socialized medicine fund dialysis for patients under the age of 65. I seem to remember a news story years ago wherein a British man was taken off the kidney transplant list as he was considered too old to be given a kidney transplant, should a suitable donor organ become available. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/18 "2012-03-15T13:41:30Z")
> [@Corcaigh](#): > > I seem to remember a news story years ago wherein a British man was taken off the kidney transplant list as he was considered too old to be given a kidney transplant, should a suitable donor organ become available. I suspect that was out of concern for his survival, rather than death-panelling. From the [horse’s mouth](http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ukt/about_transplants/frequently_asked_questions_about_transplants/f_a_qs_about_kidney_transplantation.asp): > [@](#): > > **Is there any age limit for inclusion on the transplant list?** > > There is no upper age limit for renal transplantation although it is important that whenever a kidney transplant is considered, the potential benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The transplant operation and the subsequent treatment are both relatively arduous and therefore a patient needs to be fit enough to withstand the entire process. Where patients are very frail, or have significant medical problems, the risks of undergoing a transplant may be too great and it is less likely that transplantation will be considered an option for them. The decision on the appropriateness of renal transplantation is made by the individual concerned in consultation with their doctors. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/19 "2012-03-15T13:48:27Z")
> [@spotthegerbil](#): > > - England still retains a prescription fee of £7.40 with exemptions for over 60’s, under 16’s and a few other specific groups. [QUOTE=Filbert] There’s also a pre-payment certificate you can buy, which costs £29.10 for three months, or £104 for a year, which you can then use to get all prescriptions at no extra charge for that time. Even if you are not entitled to free medication, you should not have to pay more than that, regardless of how many different treatments you need. [/QUOTE] In addition, you don’t pay prescription fees if the medications are issued from a hospital pharmacy - I collect my HepB antivirals from hospital every three months in exchange for a few ml of blood and a sphygmomanometry. I would expect antirejection drugs for transplant patients are issued in a similar way. Si ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776/20 "2012-03-15T13:59:21Z")
When you hear ‘stories’ about the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, please remember the two sides: - the NHS is supported by the general public and every UK political party 😃 - it is opposed by Rick Santorum :rolleyes: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-does-public-funding-for-dialysis-patients-get-cut-off-at-age-65/615776.md?page=2)