NHF aims to redirect drug spend to prevention
Published:Wednesday | January 18, 2023 | 12:31 AM
The National Health Fund (NHF) has pledged to bolster public education to reduce its spend on drugs and redirect financing to preventative measures in the long term.
That goal, however, faces the hurdle of high incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Jamaica, including diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.
NHF expenditure claims have soared by more than 100 per cent from $3.1 billion to $6.4 billion over the 10-year cycle of fiscal years 2012-2013 to 2021-2022.
Of note, five conditions accounted for 78 per cent of the total NHF Card subsidy payment, with diabetes representing 30 per cent of the total subsidy, followed by hypertension at 24 per cent.
“We spend billions of dollars every year to treat these illnesses. What we will seek to do going forward is really spending the money on preventing persons from becoming a patient of any NCD,” NHF acting board Chairman Shane Dalling said during a press conference on Tuesday.
“The drive and the focus and the public education will be on preventing illness,” he added.
NHF has upgraded its programme benefits by increasing the subsidy on its cards, introducing prostate screening to its offerings and adding more items to the Jamaica Drug for the Elderly Programme drug list.
Dalling said the fund’s strategic plan for 2022-2027 has three major priorities: optimising funding and access for beneficiaries; improving the delivery of NHF services; and increasing operational excellence to achieve greater customer satisfaction.
“What we will seek to do is to reduce the overall budget that the Government is spending on healthcare as it relates to non-communicable diseases, so that the Government can redirect funding to core services such as providing more equipment in hospitals,” Dalling said.
In his address, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton charged the NHF to use its 20th anniversary as an opportunity to play a greater advocacy role.
“We have to get people nudged into greater health-seeking behaviours. It cannot just be about cure, it has to be about prevention, and some of it we may have to legislate, like tobacco legislation, like school nutrition policies about what is served in our schools, sugary drinks, and people’s right to know what’s in their food,” the minister said.
He said that the NHF’s compassionate assistance fund had grown in five years from $100 million to $500 million.
Tufton said more often than not, Jamaicans who make these requests are faced with a life and death situation.
“While we have a duty to respond, and we will always make the effort and the extra effort to respond, there is a point at which, and I think the 20th year is a good point, we have to now come to terms with what the realities represent,” Tufton said.
Meanwhile, Tufton said discussions about healthcare financing will be ramped up over the next month.
The Dr Damien King led-committee tasked with conducting a review of healthcare financing in Jamaica is expected to submit its report in June 2023.