Ministry of Health

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Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer has assured Jamaicans that the Government will not retreat from its pro-poor development agenda despite the economic hardships now facing the country and the world. Speaking at the Opening ceremony for the mid term review of the 2007-2011 GoJ/UNICEF Country strategy this morning (Wednesday, November 18, 2009), Minister Spencer said while the Government has always indicated a willingness to review the abolition of user fees policy, it will not be abandoning the policy.

"We will not return to the days when financial obstacle was a major contributing factor for poor persons to bypass the health sector. The 2007 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions shows that 33.9% of persons who reported an illness in 2006 but did not seek care cited cost as the mitigating factor," he points out.

Minister Spencer said that the policy of user fees provided for exemptions but there has always been a difficulty to establish a satisfactory exemption system that benefits those who cannot afford to pay for health services. He says the World Public Expenditure Review of 2004 shows that less than 10% of patients got exemptions from fees which is low considering the high level of utilisation of public health services by the poor.

The Health Minister pointed out that the benefits of the abolition of user fees policy are however not restricted to better health outcomes. "The savings that households realise from not paying fees at our facilities can go towards greater investment in our children. The additional disposable income of families reduces the financial pressure to meet inescapable costs such as transportation and lunch money," the Minister explained.

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