AS and prescription drugs in Scotland

Prescription drug coverage varies from country to country, and within countries at all: some of us get it through work, some of us through the state, and some of us not at all. For a chronic disease like ankylosing spondylitis, prescription drugs are almost never an optional expense: they determine whether we can function -- work, move, sleep -- or not. As part of its campaign to extend prescription drug benefits to people with chronic illnesses, The Scotsman profiles 56-year-old Pat Byrne, whose wife must pay £95 a month in prescription drug costs to prevent ankylosing spondylitis from putting him in a wheelchair. From the article: "Mr. Byrne believes it is unfair that someone on income support but physically able to work can get free prescriptions, while a disabled person unable to work must pay."