The National Health Service is a government run health care organisation that provides health and medical services to citizens and residents of the United Kingdom. It was started in 1948 and intended by its creators to be "free at the point of service". This meant that people who use the NHS would not be required to pay for services each time they used them.
The NHS is paid for out of employee contributions from their wages and also from general government money raised in the form of taxes.
The promise of a health service that would be free at the point of service was broken almost right away with the start of prescription charges. Prescription charges are a set price that people within England must pay for each item on a prescription form. This charge is currently £8.60 for each item and is raised each year.