Deconstructing Jamaica's Health Financing Policies and Practices

This Book is based on a Study which aimed to outline Jamaica's existing health financing system through the functions of revenue collection, risk pooling and purchasing. It also looks at the extent to which policies and practices have impacted the performance of the general health system. It has been argued that the local health policy environment may be unsustainable due to a lack of domestic resources, options for additional financing and the strain the policies appear to have imposed on an already struggling health system. Sustaining the current policy environment and the integrity of the health system has, therefore, become a concern for Jamaica's Government. The financing system appears to have contributed to an improvement in the health status of the population, however, certain strategies have led to demand-side misuse that highlight and perpetuate supply-side constraints. The Study also aimed to add to the analytical gap by highlighting financing policies they have impeded or facilitated improved health system performance, as it is my hope that this may inspire further research towards implementation of a performance management system.