Five Health Conditions Added To NHF Card

Five states have been added to the National Health Fund (NHF), bringing the number of states to 22 where Jamaicans currently have access to drugs and treatments subsidized by the government and private health sectors.

Colorectal and lung cancer, multiple myeloma, Parkinson's disease and thyroid disease are five diseases that affect up to 50,000 people, said Dr. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health and Welfare, said at a press conference at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston on Tuesday. Receive medical care. Use your NHF cards.

450 million dollars have been allocated for this initiative and the NHF card will support 460 pharmacies.

"The addition of these five conditions will enable the discovery of 10 new active pharmaceutical ingredients for the NHF disease treatment program," Tufton said.

The addition of these new words is important and timely, reminding Jamaicans that cancer is the second leading cause of death in Jamaica and is a growing problem among other non-communicable diseases in the country.

Colorectal cancer (also known as colon cancer), lung cancer and multiple myeloma are among the 10 most common types of cancer in the country, according to the World Cancer Observatory 2020. The third cancer in the population, colon cancer about 11 percent of the population. Tufton said more than 700 new cases were reported in 2020, but only 500 people, or 7.5 percent of Jamaicans, were diagnosed with lung cancer.

He added that multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer, killed more than 100 people in 2020, with a mortality rate of 2.9 percent.

The NHF card helps enrollees pay for selected essential drugs, equipment and tests - at participating pharmacies or doctors' offices - for some of the 22 medical conditions covered, as it covers a portion of the total cost.

"The National Health Fund's Private Benefits Program offers registered Jamaicans three main categories of benefits. The support currently covers the purchase of drugs for the treatment and management of 17 chronic diseases, drugs for diabetes and asthma, and three diagnostic tests," said Tufton. .

He added that about 350,000 Jamaicans currently depend on the NHF program.

NHF Pharmacy Provider News - Part 1