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A group of researchers examining user fees in the health sector wants elderly persons with chronic health complaints to get free medicine.
The recommendation is one of several put forward by researchers who came together to examine the impact of user fees on vulnerable Jamaicans.
One of the researchers, Professor Wilma Bailey says fees for the elderly should be scrapped.
"We were dealing with the elderly, with core morbidities, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, glaucoma and each drug could incur very large co-payments. Those of us with private insurance could have the co-payments met by insurance companies but the poorer are not covered by insurance," she said.
Professor Bailey says another issue that must be addressed is the cost of transportation to health facilities for elderly patients living in rural areas.
In 2006, the then Minister of Health, Horace Dalley approached researchers at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus to design a project providing evidence that could inform policy on user fees in the health services.
However, the researchers plan to publish their findings a year later was scrapped as it was an election year in which the Jamaica Labour Party won.
In 2008, the government abolished all user fees in the public health sector.
This resulted in the authors once again having to dig deeper to find out the effects of the new system on groups of people.
The completed effort was launched on Thursday morning in a book entitled "The Case for Selective User Fees in Health Care: An examination of the issues related to user fees among vulnerable Jamaicans".
Over 200 patients in urban and rural areas were monitored for a period of 18 months.
A group of researchers examining user fees in the health sector wants elderly persons with chronic health complaints to get free medicine.
The recommendation is one of several put forward by researchers who came together to examine the impact of user fees on vulnerable Jamaicans.
One of the researchers, Professor Wilma Bailey says fees for the elderly should be scrapped.
"We were dealing with the elderly, with core morbidities, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, glaucoma and each drug could incur very large co-payments. Those of us with private insurance could have the co-payments met by insurance companies but the poorer are not covered by insurance," she said.
Professor Bailey says another issue that must be addressed is the cost of transportation to health facilities for elderly patients living in rural areas.
In 2006, the then Minister of Health, Horace Dalley approached researchers at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus to design a project providing evidence that could inform policy on user fees in the health services.
However, the researchers plan to publish their findings a year later was scrapped as it was an election year in which the Jamaica Labour Party won.
In 2008, the government abolished all user fees in the public health sector.
This resulted in the authors once again having to dig deeper to find out the effects of the new system on groups of people.
The completed effort was launched on Thursday morning in a book entitled "The Case for Selective User Fees in Health Care: An examination of the issues related to user fees among vulnerable Jamaicans".
Over 200 patients in urban and rural areas were monitored for a period of 18 months.