OPPOSITION spokesman on health, Dr Morais Guy is urging the Government to ensure direct budgetary allocation for the National Health Fund (NHF) from the central coffers to match the increased demands for drug subsidy, on which over 700,000 Jamaicans depend.

In his contribution to the sectoral debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Dr Guy pointed to last week’s lament by Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton about the increased burden on the NHF, as the cost of certain pharmaceuticals skyrocket, along with the number of persons who depend on the subsidy.

“The National Health Fund has to be preserved and maintained as one source for supporting our health-care system. With the proposed tobacco legislation having some changes that will impact the taxation from this source, there has to be a serious look at how its viability is protected and maintained. The Ministry of Finance should ensure a direct budgetary allocation each year for the National Health Fund to ensure that increased demands are matched by increased subvention from the central government’s coffers. The history of the NHF has indicated the importance of this organisation, as, without it, the country wouldn’t be able to access good quality medication at very affordable prices. So, whatever proposal is put forward, the end result should be the continual operation of the NHF,” Dr Guy stressed.

Dr Tufton told the House that the burden on the NHF was unsustainable, and that its budget would have to be increased by at least 30 per cent, over the next three fiscal years, to continue to provide the subsidies on drugs, some of which had increased by over 700 per cent since 2017.

He indicated that there may have to be a reduction in the benefits as the Government looks to find more sustainable ways to fund the health sector as a whole. “We must review, and we must reform. So, we have few options – we either reduce the benefits to over 720,000 Jamaicans who are likely to need medicines or curative services and cannot afford to pay in the private sector, or we change our funding model to reflect a more sustainable approach to financing the health sector or use policies and laws to change our lifestyle to improve our health profile and ultimately reduce costs, both to the individuals and to the collective. The answer is likely to be a combination of all of the above,” Tufton said in his 2022/23 sectoral debate speech.

Dr Guy also reiterated his call for the health ministry to provide clarity and updates on the proposed national health insurance scheme, for which a green paper was tabled in 2019. “We have not heard anything further three years down the road. It seems to have become the norm nowadays to blame everything on the COVID-19 pandemic,” he remarked.

The Opposition spokesman said while he recognised the efforts of the health authorities to adjust national systems and protocols to confront the pandemic, essential documents and important policies cannot be left behind and blamed on the pandemic.He argued that the development of a national health insurance scheme could reduce the financial stress on the NHF.Dr Tufton had promised that a ministry paper on sustainable financing for the health-care system would be unveiled in the coming months, in tandem with a series of consultations, as a follow on to the Green Paper on a National Health Insurance Plan.