JTB to undertake competitive bidding to identify suitable health insurance providers

The much touted Jamaica Cares mandatory medical insurance programme for tourists is one step closer to reality today.

Cabinet has given its approval for the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) to undertake a competitive bidding process to identify suitable providers of medical insurance and health logistics coverage for tourists, who are visiting the island. This insurance programme will be mandatory for visitors to the island and the cost will be borne by them.

The political executive has also endorsed the JTB to be the coordinating entity for the programme designed for visitors to Jamaica, who hold foreign passports.

Education, Youth and Information, Minister, Fayval Williams who made the announcement during a virtual post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday (April 14), pointed to the fact that the insurance programme is critical to the resumption of safe travel to Jamaica.

Insurance necessary for the resumption of safe tourism

Williams said the programme was also necessary for health as well as economic sustainability, noting that “the availability of medical insurance and emergency evacuation are important parameters for the resumption of international travel”.

She contended that,“medical insurance coverage would provide visitors with confidence in destination Jamaica and protect the public healthcare system”.

Last October, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett announced the implementation of the Jamaica Cares Insurance Programme, the first end-to-end insurance programme for tourists travelling to the island.

The revolutionary initiative, which comprises two components – an all-hazard and a coronavirus (COVID-19) programme – is aimed at providing travel protection and emergency services to tourists coming into the island, as well as to ensure the safety and protection of workers in the tourism sector and, by extension, Jamaican citizens.

Jamaica, through this programme, will be the first in the world to offer this end-to-end health logistics coverage.