THE Ministry of Health has announced an increase in user fees for services provided to non-residents, private patients and patients with health insurance at all public health facilities, effective August 1.

The ministry, in a media release yesterday, said that the increases were previously approved by Cabinet and gazetted in the National Health Services (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2016.

It said that the full schedule of increases are contained in the regulations, which can be accessed through the Government Printing Office, the Ministry of Health’s four regional health authorities or any local public hospital.

Some of the increased fees for hospital services include registration for general medical visits, from $1,500 to $3,000, and specialty clinics from $3,500 to $7,500; morgue services from $1,000 per day to $2,000 per day; and ICU from $5,000 to $10,600 per day. There is also an increase in the fees for food handlers’ permits, up from $500 to $1,000.

Jamaicans who do not fall in any of the aforementioned categories, that is, public patients without health insurance, will continue to access the public health services without charge, in keeping with the abolition of user fees for public health facilities that took effect in 2008, the ministry said.

The no-user-fee policy was implemented by former Prime Minister Bruce Golding in 2008.

The no-user-fee policy in health care has contributed US$26.6 million (in purchasing power parity terms) worth of net real production to the Jamaican economy, while adding 2.15 additional weekly hours to the labour market, according to a recent publication by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The publication, entitled Universal Public Health Insurance Adult Status and Labour Supply in Jamaica, revealed that the policy, which was passed in 2008 by Golding, increased aggregate labour supply by 53.2 million hours each year between 2008 and 2012.

The policy, which underwent much criticism both during and after its implementation, has had a positive effect on the overall health of Jamaicans as there was an 18.2 per cent reduction in the likelihood of people suffering any illness, the study said, whilst a significant reduction equivalent to 0.17 days (34 per cent) was reported for people who were unable to carry out normal activities due to illnesses.