Call to halt use of Health Insurance Fund for Jersey Care Model
22 November 2022
The Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel, under the Chairmanship of Deputy Geoff Southern, has lodged a proposal to amend the Government Plan 2023-26. The amendment, if approved, will stop the transfer of £12.4 million in 2023 from the Health Insurance Fund (HIF) to fund the Jersey Care Model (JCM) and associated digital strategies. The Panel does not believe it is appropriate to use the money from the HIF to redesign, modernise and digitalise health and care services without knowing the future stability of the fund and in the absence of a sustainable health care funding model.
Until the Minister for Health and Social Services and the Minister for Social Security complete an actuarial review and sustainable healthcare funding review, the Panel proposes that no further money should be taken out of the HIF that does not directly support primary care services. Instead, it has proposed to transfer the £12,450,000 of funds from the General Head of Expenditure into the Consolidated Fund.
Deputy Geoff Southern, said: "The use of the Health Insurance Fund has been a continuous concern for both the present and previous Health and Social Security Panels. It is gradually being depleted with little knowledge of its financial condition and without any sustainable funding plans in place. It is important that no further money is removed from the Fund for this purpose. We want to ensure that primary care is adequately funded to support patients and GPs. It is therefore integral that these reviews take place to assess whether the Health Insurance Fund itself is the best means of funding the modernisation and redesign of health care services."
The Government Plan 2023-26 and the Panel's amendment are due for debate in the States Assembly meeting commencing Monday 12 December.
