The Green Paper on the National Health Insurance Plan for Jamaica, published some months ago, indicates that out of pocket expenditures (OOP) for Jamaicans on health remain high and private insurance coverage rates are below 20 per cent.

Should individuals be buying more health insurance to avoid bankruptcy caused by health crises?

The data is not available for Jamaica, but a 2019 report posted on Nasdaq.com cited an increasing trend of medical bankruptcy.

A new study has found that 530,000 families turn to bankruptcy each year due to medical bills in the United States. The research also noted that 58.5 per cent of bankruptcies were caused specifically by medical bills, while 44.3 per cent were caused in part by income loss due to illness.

In Jamaica, the Green Paper on National Insurance said out-of-pocket expenditure as a share of total health expenditures continues to be slightly above the median when bench marked against comparative countries.

Currently, public expenditure on health in Jamaica represents 3.47 per cent of GDP. International experience has shown that six per cent of GDP as public expenditure in health is a useful benchmark.

The paper said that when OOP expenditure is above 20 per cent, families are at a greater risk of catastrophic health spending and impoverishment because of an episode of illness.

This means your savings, and your ability to buy a home and other assets can be wiped out by the costs of ill-health.

http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/lifestyle-changes-more-insurance-recommended-cut-medical-expenses