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On 29th October 2021, Labour MP Carolyn Harris succeeded in getting HRT costs reduced to a once a year payment in England (an Annual Prepayment Certificate for HRT products). On March 16th, 2022, it was announced that this won't be implemented till April 2023, leaving many women still struggling to pay.
This change needs to be made sooner, along with transparency about the HRT shortages so that women can more easily afford and obtain vital medication.
Write to your MP
The more of us who write to our MPs, the more traction we build. Here’s how…
Find out who your local MP is using www.theyworkforyou.co.uk.
Or call the House of Commons Information Office on 020 7219 4272.
Then just copy & paste this to them.
Your address
MP's name
Date
Dear [MP’s name]
Annual Prepayment Certificate for HRT products
As you will be aware, on 29th October 2021, Carolyn Harris, Labour MP for Swansea East, Chair of the Menopause All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and co-chair of the UK Menopause Taskforce, succeeded in getting the promise that HRT costs would be reduced to a once a year payment in England - the Annual Prepayment Certificate for HRT products. On March 16th, 2022, it was announced that this isn't being implemented till April 2023.
We are asking that this change be made sooner, and for there to be transparency about the on-going HRT shortages.
HRT isn't a luxury and it ought to be available for all who wish to use it.
There are thought to be around 26 million peri and post menopausal women in the UK. As ovaries stop producing eggs, our oestrogen levels fluctuate and decrease. Women have oestrogen receptors around their entire bodies, and a lack of it can cause menopause symptoms that can seriously affect both long and short term health.
These can include hot flushes, headaches, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, night sweats, brain fog, decreased libido and vaginal dryness. One in four will suffer serious symptoms. Women leave their jobs, relationships suffer, and there are even suicides. One in a hundred women under the age of 40 goes through premature menopause (POI) and needs HRT.
Long term, taking HRT is known to have protective effects for the heart and for bones. Expert consensus is that for most women the benefits of HRT outweigh the risks.
We are living in times when families are being forced to choose between heating and eating. HRT needs to be easily available and affordable for those choosing to take it. We also need assurances that everything possible is being done to ensure supply, and for there to be transparency around the situation.
I would very much like you to raise this issue in parliament.
Thank you for your help with this matter and I look forward to your response.
Best wishes
[Your name]