Sagicor Life Jamaica is set to launch its new framework for accessing maternity benefits, which will allow pregnant women to swipe their health cards for doctors’ visits and other related antenatal care services.

The company is currently in the process of testing the system changes necessary for implementation on a phased basis, starting next month. Full roll-out is scheduled to be completed by August 2019.

Vice-President, group insurance services, Employee Benefits Division, Carol Lawrence said the move is geared at improving convenience and accessibility to maternity benefits for pregnant women.

“There was a challenge for doctors and other health service providers to identify when benefits allowed for antenatal care had been maximised and as such, pregnant women were asked to submit a claim for reimbursement. We believe that, with the technology now available to us, it’s time to make changes to that process so that women can access their benefits more easily if they choose to do so,” she said.

Lawrence said Sagicor is committed to excellent service delivery and will continue to work with its stakeholders to meet the needs of clients through the provision of insurance benefits.

The maternity benefit is a fixed amount, provided through an employer’s health plan, which covers all pregnancy-related expenses for prenatal, delivery, and post-natal care, which includes delivery of the baby, diagnostic services such as ultrasounds, doctor’s visits, obstetrician services, and hospital expenses.