AROUND £265,000 a year will be saved by making the Island’s richest patients pay for their own travel and accommodation when sent to the UK for treatment, according to newly published details of the controversial proposal.
The figure – revealed in a written answer from the Health Minister – is the first estimate of the financial impact of the policy, which would end the current system under which all public patients referred off-Island have their travel and accommodation paid for.
Under the controversial plans, first revealed by the JEP last month, roughly 70% of Islanders would continue to receive fully funded travel. But higher-income households would have to contribute partially or cover the costs themselves.
The move follows warnings from the Health Department that growing demand and rising costs mean the system must change so that “finite public funding is used fairly and directed to the Islanders who need care”.
The proposals have already sparked political concern after it emerged during a States sitting that the policy had been drafted without a cost-benefit analysis or financial modelling of the wider impact on families.
However, Deputy Tom Binet has now revealed the reform could produce “total anticipated savings” of £265,000 per year.
Responding to a written question from health scutineer Deputy Jonathan Renouf, the minister said the figure was calculated using data from Statistics Jersey on household incomes and family size, alongside historical patterns of off-Island referrals.
The modelling also took into account that patients over 65 use off-Island services around three times more often than younger Islanders, but that most pensioner households fall below the proposed income thresholds.
The estimate also excludes private patients and recognises exemptions for certain groups, including patients under 18 and those receiving Income Support or Pension Plus.
Deputy Binet admitted the thresholds “may sometimes cause hardship” – for example, when someone has to have regular or intensive treatments or if they lose their income.
The minister said that those patients could ask for discretionary funding from the Travel Office.
How would the charging system work?
If introduced, eligibility for funded travel would depend on household income and family size, using income data already assessed by Revenue Jersey.
Officials say the system is based on the Island’s pre-2017 policy but updated using the Average Earnings Index.
Under the proposed structure, households would fall into four broad categories:
The policy splits the population into four groups:
- Group A: eligible for accommodation, food, UK overland travel, and travel to the UK
- Group B: eligible for accommodation and overseas travel
- Group C: eligible only for accommodation
- No support: Anyone above group C would not be eligible for any financial help, including for accommodation.
Maximum incomes for groups A and B would depend on household size, but examples of the income thresholds for the highest level of financial support include £48,100 for a single adult with no children or £78,200 for two adults with no children.
Patients from households earning more than £210,400 a year would receive no funded travel or accommodation at all.
The £210,400 figure aligns with the income cap used for Jersey’s student finance system.
Deputy Binet said no additional staff would be needed to administer the scheme.
Instead, the reduced number of bookings made by the Travel Office is expected to free up staff time to handle the income checks and coordinate with Revenue Jersey.
A small administrative transfer of around £1,800 per year to Revenue Jersey is planned to support income assessments, alongside minor database updates costing around £4,250.
Patients who are no longer eligible for funded travel would be expected to book and pay for their own journeys and accommodation, although the Travel Office could still help make bookings if required.
Deputy Binet said public consultation has been avoided because the department believes the issues are already well understood and unlikely to produce new insights.
Instead, the policy has been discussed with senior clinicians and the Health Advisory Board, with feedback incorporated into the draft proposals.
He stressed that no final decision has yet been taken on whether to introduce the policy or when it might come into force.
