Help with health costs (HCS1): information booklet - August 2021

How To Use This Document

You can quickly check if you are entitled to free treatment by reading:

• Free NHS Dental Treatment
• NHS Optical Vouchers
• Repair or Replacement of Glasses or Contact Lenses
• Travel Costs (to hospital for NHS treatment)

For more detailed guidance see Age groups, Income groups, Other groups and then find the group you most easily fit into.

After reading about the group that most applies to you, check to see if any others also apply. You may fit into more than one group. If so, you need to make sure you read about both groups.

When you have found the group or groups you belong to and what help you can get, go on to: ‘Claiming Help When You Go For Treatment’.

Refunds. You can also get information about refunds in this document – read Further Advice.

The Penalty Charge. If you are found to have made a wrongful claim for help with health costs, you will face penalty charges and may be prosecuted. Read Further Advice.

Current Rates. The current rates of NHS charges and optical voucher values in Scotland are given in leaflet HCS2 ‘A Quick Guide to Help with Health Costs – Charges and Optical Voucher Values’ https://www.gov.scot/collections/help-with-health-costs/.

This leaflet is also available from GP Surgeries, Community Pharmacies, Citizens Advice Scotland and Jobcentre Plus.