‘Educate workers on preventative health management’

ERIC HOSIN says that Guardian Life is currently a group health insurer, and consequently, the provision of health insurance is facilitated primarily through employers or associations. He said, however, that employers were under pressure to manage employee costs, including health insurance, and, therefore, would seek out strategies to reduce these costs.

But, Hosin said, a collaborative approach between the insurance companies and the employers to educate workers on ‘preventative health management’ could contribute to a reduction in the use of benefits, resulting in more affordable coverage and retention of coverage.

Additionally, combined actions in making the treatment more accessible and affordable, for example, in collaboration with the NHF’s Herceptin programme, could help breast cancer patients. Though Herceptin is not on the NHF’s list of drugs, there is a special programme for access through treatment within certain public hospitals. Herceptin is used to treat metastatic breast cancer. It can set a patient back up to $350,000 per treatment.

What will the Government do to make the situation much more manageable for the majority of Jamaicans without health insurance? Minister of Health Dr Christopher Tufton, when responding to questions from The Gleaner about the low level of coverage, said: “This is one for dialogue with health insurance companies to look at providing insurance for routine annual wellness visits to the doctor and to support age-appropriate routine screening.”