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WQ.174/2022
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER CENTRAL
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON TUESDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 2022
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 27th SEPTEMBER 2022
Question
“Is it the Minister’s policy that health care should be provided free at the point of use and that, in particular, all services currently delivered by health care services free of charge should remain so; and will she agree to propose that sustainable funding for such services should be sourced from hypothecated taxes?”
Answer
The Government Plan 2022 required the Minister for Health and Social Services to “undertake a wider health economic review during 2022 to inform funding options for increased health care costs and for any potential new health access schemes, to be brought forward in 2023 for the Government Plan 2024-27” in order that a system of sustainable health funding will be “operational by 2025”.
Officers have commenced work, supported by specialist health economists, to estimate total healthcare expenditure for Jersey using the WHO system of Health Accounts and to model current funding sources. This will provide full understanding of expenditure and funding and allow us to draw comparisons with other jurisdictions.
The first phase engagement work, which is intended to support a better understanding of Islanders’ attitudes to health funding, will commence in October 2022 with a survey being distributed to approximately 3,000 Jersey households. This will be followed by a second phase of engagement activity in Q3 2023, in which we will consult the public and service providers on potential funding and financing options. It is envisaged that this will result in a report and proposition being brought to the Assembly by early 2024.
Until the work has been completed, it would be pre-emptive to commit to any proposed funding and financing model.