 St. Lucia may finally see the first phase of a national health insurance and HI program as early as the end of this year. More in this report from Funal Neptune. The implementation of national health insurance will mark a major milestone in the island's healthcare system. Through the national health insurance, the Government of St. Lucia aims to make healthcare more accessible to all segments of the population, facilitating more inclusive health coverage. Health Planner in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Lauren James, explains the first phase of the national health insurance system will include an essential package of health services at the primary care level, get at tackling non-communicable diseases. What this will attempt to do is half persons be able to access healthcare when they need it without thinking about, hey, do I have money to pay for this? Do I have money to pay for that? So in that way, persons can be more proactive about their health by seeking care when they need it. In the first phase, we are looking at a package of services where we are targeting more or less chronic diseases which have been affecting the country at large. For example, diabetes, hypertension. We have the screen for cancer and other care areas. National health insurance is a means to achieve universal health coverage in St. Lucia. Universal health coverage means that all people have access to the health services they need, when they need them, without enduring any financial hardship or paying for healthcare out of pocket. What we envision is where persons would pay a premium every month or whether it be every year or every month and they would access healthcare and they would not have to pay out of pocket. Normally, right now, as it stands, for example, I have an insurance package and I would have to pay for the service out of pocket and then claim from my insurance company. What we are looking for is to move away from that and to have the insurance companies reimburse the providers. So that is the method in which you pay your premium and then whenever you need the care, you just access and don't pay. The development of national health insurance is a component of the health system strengthening project funded by the World Bank. $5.5 million secured from the World Bank funded project is dedicated to the development of the national health insurance system in St. Lucia. To view the full interview with health planner in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Lauren James, go to the government of St. Lucia's YouTube channel and Facebook page. Reporting from the Ministry of Health and Wellness, I am Fena Neptune.