Fourteen years on, Scotland’s commitment to free prescriptions is putting hundreds of pounds back into people’s pockets.
New figures show that scrapping charges is saving Scottish households over £400 a year.
The SNP marked the anniversary by underlining how vital the policy has become during a time of economic pressure.
Over 114 million prescriptions were handed out in Scotland in the past year alone.
That breaks down to 20.8 prescriptions per person on average across the population.
With England’s charge now sitting at £9.90 per item, that means Scots saved around £436.72 per household over the past year.
That’s money that can go towards heating, groceries, or simply staying afloat in a cost-of-living crisis.
The SNP warned that this would all be at risk if the Tories returned to power in Holyrood.
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has already pledged to bring back prescription charges if given the chance.
Under his plans, the average Scot would fork out over £200 a year just to access basic medication.
SNP MSP Clare Haughey called that a disgrace and accused Findlay of planning to punish people simply for being unwell.
She said the SNP would always stand by its belief that healthcare should be free at the point of need.
Prescription charges, she said, were just a tax on ill health and a barrier to treatment.
Haughey pointed to the situation in England, where research by the Trussell Trust found many families going without medication.
According to the charity, 68% of working households on Universal Credit in England have skipped essentials like prescriptions because of the cost.
She said that kind of reality should never be allowed to happen in Scotland.
With rising bills and the cost-of-living crisis still hitting hard, she said access to medicine must remain protected.
She also warned against Labour’s hints at deeper private involvement in the NHS.
In her words, only the SNP can be trusted to defend the founding principles of the health service.
The policy, first introduced by the SNP government in 2011, has now become one of the clearest dividing lines in Scottish politics.
It is also one of the most popular, with wide support across all age groups and income levels.
In the current economic climate, that support is only likely to grow stronger.
