Spanish pensioners,and Ex Pats who currently do not have to pay for prescription medicines, will be obliged to contribute 10 percent toward them under new Health Ministry guidelines designed to slash seven billion Euro from the state’s expenditure on public healthcare. The subsidy will be capped at eight Euro per month for retired citizens with income of less than 18,000 Euro per year and 18 Euro for those that exceed that figure.

Active workers will continue to pay 40 percent toward prescriptions if they fall into the former earnings bracket and 50 percent in the case of the latter. People who earn more than 100,000 Euro a year will pay up to 60 percent.They say there will be special rules with regards to chronic sufferers  who are in receipt of constant medication.

http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/04/18/inenglish/1334773062_431794.html