NHF to Expand Support for Early Detection of Cervical and Prostate Cancers

The National Health Fund (NHF) will, this year, expand its support for diagnostic tests for the early detection of cervical and prostate cancers.

All Jamaican female residents who are 21 years and over, will receive a subsidy to help cover the cost of a pap smear.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2024/25 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, on Tuesday (May 7).

“After doing the analysis, we are now introducing a $1,300 per test for pap smear for Jamaica women… so that they are able to do [the test] once a year for cervical cancer. We are adding services based on the challenges in the population,” Dr. Tufton said.

Currently, the NHF offers a subsidy for the PSA test to all male NHF Cardholders 40 years and older.

The subsidy of $1,600 for a PSA test each year is now expanded to all male Jamaican residents 40 years and older.

These new benefits on the NHF card will come into effect on June 10, 2024.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tufton informed that in 2016/17, the NHF spent $4.18 billion on subsidies for drugs on the NHF card, adding that in 2023/24 the agency provided subsidies totalling $7.14 billion for drugs, which is a 97 per cent increase in overall expenditure.

The NHF has also increased the categories of chronic illnesses covered from 16 in 2016/17 to 22 in 2023/24.

“The cost to provide drugs and medical sundries to the public health sector by the NHF in 2016/17 was just under $6 billion, compared to $15 billion in 2023/24, a staggering 156 per cent increase,” Dr. Tufton stated.

He added that the NHF is providing more drugs than they have ever done before – increasing outlets, increasing prescriptions, increasing drugs and increasing the budget.

For 2023/24, the NHF processed 2.9 million prescriptions amounting to 9.6 million items filled for approximately 750,000 patients.

This is a 125 per cent increase over 2016/17 when 1.3 million scripts, representing 4.4 million prescription items dispensed, were filled.