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Sector leaders are touting value for money in health expenditure; even as Jamaica lags far behind comparable countries in spending, ranking 39th out of the 54 countries with similar economies. Health and Wellness Minister Chris Tufton was supported by Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ) president, Michael James, and opposition spokesman on health, Morais Guy, that Jamaica is delivering good healthcare, even as the expenditure is low.
“If you take the data in its totality, given the limitations that we have, the public-health system adds significant value to the quality and quantity of life as we know it,” Tufton said at the Gleaner Editors’ Forum on health financing last Tuesday.
Tufton noted that there is a perception that the health system is broken because of a focus on the few negative incidents that happen.
“That, sometimes, for me, is disappointing and even heart-wrenching, because I know of the sacrifices that many of the healthcare workers make, in order to make the system right,” he said.
Guy, went further by saying that Jamaica gets far more in health outcomes than it spends in the sector, and James said the country should be spending more especially since it is lagging behind on metrics such as maternal and infant mortality, life expectancy, among others.
SPENDING MORE
World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines indicate that countries like Jamaica should be spending more of its total basket of goods and services, gross domestic product (GDP) on providing healthcare for the nation. Currently, public expenditure in health in Jamaica, represents 3.47 per cent of GDP. This puts Jamaica far behind similar countries worldwide. International experience has shown that six per cent of GDP as public expenditure in health is a useful benchmark and a necessary condition to achieve Universal Health, according to a National Health Insurance Plan 2019 Green Paper.
The World Bank estimates that Jamaica spends an average of US$321, in the health sector, on each of its 2.8 million people.
Over the next 12 months a committee led by economist, Damien King, will be examining expenditure in the health sector and whether there can be better modalities for funding. King said critical to shaping his report will be the examination of expenditure in the health sector and the extent to which efficiencies can be extracted.
“A part of it is to examine if we are getting the best outcomes for what we’re now spending. Out of this is going to come greater efficiencies as well as the need for additional financing,” King said, adding that the case for additional financing will have to be made.
Tufton said while the health sector examination continues, the ministry is training frontline staff and appointing customer service representatives to engender or rekindle a greater spirit of empathy, giving due regard to the fact that many people, even when they are not actual patients, undergo mental trauma wrought by the event of contact with the health system.
neville.graham@gleanerjm.com
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