Calls to fund Jersey Care Model without affecting GP visits and free prescriptions

Deputy Geoff Southern will ask States Members to amend the Government Plan to preserve the Health Insurance Fund. Credit: ITV Channel

A scrutiny panel is calling for a re-think of plans to fund the Jersey Care Model, saying the existing set-up "is not appropriate".

Under the current proposals, the overhaul of the island's health system will receive £12.4 million worth of funding from the Health Insurance Fund.

What is the Health Insurance Fund?

The fund was set up in 1967 to subsidise the cost of GP visits in Jersey and cover the costs of islanders' prescriptions, which are free at the point of delivery.

The Health Insurance Fund receives 2% of all Social Security contributions paid by Jersey employees and employers.

The 2023-26 Government Plan currently allows for £12.4 million to be withdrawn from the fund to pay for the Jersey Care Model.

But the Health and Social Security scrutiny panel says it "does not believe it is appropriate" to use the money in this way, "without knowing the future stability of the fund".

Jersey's Health Insurance Fund subsidises the cost of GP visits on the island and allows residents access to free prescriptions. Credit: PA

A review is currently being carried out by the Health and Social Security Ministers, which the panel argues should be completed before it is taken from the Health Insurance Fund.

Deputy Geoff Southern chairs the panel. He says funding for the Jersey Care Model should come from the States' general expenditure instead:

"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."