The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) yesterday blasted back against comments by Labour Minister Shane Gibson National Health Insurance’s (NHI) introduction, reiterating its call for direct talks with the Government.

  Responding to comments by Mr Gibson, the BIA again reiterated  its position that a government-run insurance company “makes no economic sense”.

Mr Gibson was recently quoted as saying the insurance industry was simply “resistant to change”, dismissing their NHI roll-out concerns.

But the BIA said: “The question for us is not ‘if’ universal healthcare should be implemented; the question is ‘how’. The smart thing to do would be to work together to develop the best, most affordable and least disruptive plan to achieve that goal.”

    Mr had allegedly Gibson sought to demonise the private sector by alleging that “people with money” were resistant to any change that “interfered with their profits”.

He added that what may have been effective a century ago would not continue to be so today.

“This is old hat political theatre,” the BIA added. “The very nature of our business demands that we adapt to change in order to survive. As insurers, we are well aware that universal health coverage will bring about necessary change to our business models and operations. Our point is that we ought to work together to ensure the best outcome and avoid economic disruption.”

    Mr Gibson was also quoted as saying that the Government was in the process of getting feedback from all stakeholders, and was already in communication with insurance companies, who were “at the table now”.

“Our industry wants to be at the table engaging in real consultation, but we have had no substantive communication from the Government in 10 months - despite the fact that we have the actuarial expertise and administrative experience to play a key role in the implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI),” the BIA said, effectively refuting Mr Gibson’s claims.

“We are not sure what table he is referring to. The BIA has been invited to hear the presentations of foreign consultants on the way NHI should be implemented. But neither they, nor the Government, are listening to our concerns and proposals. As Bahamian employers, taxpayers, professionals and good corporate citizens, we deserve better treatment.”

    In its statement, the BIA said it was not at first part of the original, but now defunct, NHI Advisory Committee.

“We had to ask the Minister of Health to be included. That was in June 2014. In August 2014, we wrote to the NHI Advisory Committee and NHI implementation team expressing our concerns and seeking dialogue,” it added.

“We have not received any response to that correspondence. In November 2014, the heads of all major health insurers and the chairman of the BIA wrote to the Prime Minister offering our support and asking to meet with him to discuss the implementation of NHI.

“After weeks of follow-up, we were able to extract a one-paragraph note from the Office of the Prime Minister stating that our letter had been forwarded to relevant agencies. We challenge Mr Gibson to produce any substantive communications from the Government to the BIA in response to our legitimate concerns and recommendations.”

    The BIA renewed its call for the Government to begin a “genuine process of direct engagement and dialogue” with the private sector.

The Government has said it will roll out the first phase of NHI on January 1, 2016. According to a report completed by Costa Rican consultants Sanigest Internacional, NHI would cost between $362 million on the low end and $633 million on the high-end annually.

The insurance industry estimates, however, that the Government’s proposed NHI scheme could cost between $895 million and $965 million to implement.