National Health Fund benefits available June 1
AS of June 1, 750,000 Jamaicans, who suffer from 14 of the most prevalent chronic diseases, will be able to access specified drugs at greatly reduced costs under the Government’s National Health Fund (NHF).
Health minister, John Junor, told reporters at a press conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston yesterday that NHF beneficiaries will be required to pay part of the cost of more than 70 drugs that will be used to manage and treat the illnesses identified for NHF support.
NHF director, Rae Barrett, said the fee to be paid will not be determined by a percentage of the retail price of the drug, but that the NHF fee shall be established based on the least-cost source. “The beneficiary co-payment is the difference between the retail selling price and the NHF fee,” he said. This means that if the distributor’s selling price for a particular drug is $75 and the pharmacy adds a margin of 40% or $30 before retailing the product for $105, the NHF will pay $75, while the beneficiary pays $30.
The NHF will provide specified pharmaceuticals for the management of arthritis, asthma, cancer of the breast, cancer of the prostate, diabetes, epilepsy, glaucoma, high cholesterol, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, major depression, psychosis, rheumatic fever, heart disease and vascular disease.
Registration begins on April 28, but will be ongoing.
“Unlike most health insurance schemes, the NHF will provide assistance for the purchase of essential pharmaceuticals year-round, based solely on need and not on a pre-determined fixed limit,” said Junor. This means that a diabetic patient, for example, need not worry that he/she will “use up” insulin to a specified value before the end of the year. Such persons will receive the same level of NHF assistance in procuring the drug year-round.
Meanwhile, Junor told reporters that the additional 23 per cent tax on tobacco products should come into effect some time this week. The additional tax will provide 45 per cent or $1 billion of the $2.2 billion that will go toward the NHF’s programme for 2003/2004.
The minister added that the initial start-up costs will be covered by a loan of $400 million from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), to be repaid with funds received by the NHF from the tobacco tax, reconfiguration of the National Insurance Scheme ($800 million), and the Government’s Consolidated Fund ($400 million).