23rd June 2021
Latest Developments in National Health Insurance
By Ministry of Health, Jacques Hinkson-Compton
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According to Chief Economist of Research and Policy in the Department of Finance, Janai Leonce, Saint Lucia sees relatively high out-of-pocket expenditures for healthcare.
“Each dollar that a person spends out-of-pocket is money that could be spent on other economic activity, education, or other expenses. Paying for healthcare has the potential to bankrupt many persons who do not have health insurance coverage,” he said.
Only 18 percent of persons of working age have health insurance. Reasons for this include policy designs and perceptions toward insurance. Further design of the upcoming National Health Insurance system includes the implementation of an affordable essential benefits package.
“One of the things the National Health Insurance system is trying to do is meet with private insurance providers and see to what extent we can design standardized products that can be at a price point that persons would be able to afford. We also want to change the attitude and the perception [of the public] with respect to insurance so that should a health event happen, a lot of the debilitating costs that persons would incur, they would be spared those costs because they have health insurance coverage.”
Government also intends to absorb the cost of health coverage for those unable to afford it.
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