From a visit to a specialist to cancer treatment overseas, Saint Lucia’s draft Universal Health Coverage Bill sets out how different types of care could be covered and who might have to pay. The proposal is available on the Universal Health Coverage programme’s website and the Government of Saint Lucia’s web portal for public review and discussion.
Under the October 6 draft, the Government would help pay for essential care for Saint Lucian citizens up to a prescribed limit. Patients could still be required to pay part of the bill. The draft leaves the amounts of those co-payments to regulations.
The proposed plan would divide coverage into three tiers. The first would cover essential care. The second would cover services such as specialist consultations, diagnostic tests and elective procedures. A third tier would cover high-cost care, including cancer treatment, dialysis, stroke care and cardiac care, as well as overseas referrals, subject to the plan’s rules.
For services in the second tier, funding could come from insurance premiums, patient payments or government assistance based on a household’s ability to pay. The draft also proposes exemptions from contributions for groups including people on low incomes, retirees, older people and people with disabilities.
A new Universal Health Coverage Authority would oversee the plan. The proposal also provides for health cards to access benefits and a tribunal to hear complaints.
The Government portal listed the draft on October 16. The public can also download it from the resources section at sluhc.com. The published listings give no deadline or formal process for submitting comments.
