There are calls for the government to impose a tax on fast food as a means to help cover the cost of financing public health care.
It is also being proposed that insurance companies make a payment in the case of automobile accidents.
It is further being proposed that a compulsory health insurance be introduced.
Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson disclosed that the measures are among several proposals received by the Ministry during its islandwide consultations on health care financing.
Ferguson emphasised that at this stage they are only suggestions but noted that they would have to be considered in the search for solutions to finance rising health care costs.
He was speaking at the 8th Caribbean Conference on Health Financing Initiatives yesterday at the Hilton Rose Hall Hotel.
Ferguson said the tax on fast foods should find good public support while payments from insurance companies in the case of automobile accidents would be an equitable contribution to the cost of health care without an additional tax burden.
He further said the compulsory social insurance would see salaried persons contributing towards the cost of their own health care.
The government embarked on the consultations to look at practical and sustainable ways of financing the public health sector.
The health minister had previously stated that Jamaica is working towards achieving developed country status by 2030 and one of the main planks to achieving this is through the improvement of the health of the population
