The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE government is “a little behind” on meeting the benchmarks set by itself and its international consultants for a successful roll out of its proposed National Health Insurance scheme, Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez said yesterday.

However, Dr Gomez suggested that the Christie administration was on schedule to begin registering eligible people for universal health coverage come January 1, 2016.

Dr Gomez added that the benchmarks set by both the government and its hired consultant Sanigest Internacional for a successful January 2016 roll out are still within the government’s grasp, stating confidently that the government will “catch up” to those objectives.

NHI is set to be phased in over a five-year period. The government has allocated $60 million for NHI in the current fiscal year.

However, some have questioned the government’s capability to facilitate a January 1 rollout, with others questioning the Christie administration’s ability to secure funding for the scheme, and the potential effects that would have on a successful implementation.

When questioned by reporters if the government was still on schedule to meet its January 1, 2016 deadline, Dr Gomez said: “We’re probably a little behind, but we’ll catch up.”

He did not elaborate on which area the government had fallen behind, but said the Christie administration planned to begin NHI registration early next year.

“That’s going to be something new,” he added.

“ . . . Everybody has to get a medical home, so that you know where you can go at any time to get services and you will be in the system, what have you, and it will be of no cost for you.”

In April, Bahamas Christian Council President Rev Dr Ranford Patterson told The Tribune he doubts that the government can successfully roll out NHI by January 2016, insisting that the Christie administration needed to advise Bahamians on how the healthcare scheme will be funded.

At the time, Rev Patterson said while he agreed there was a need for NHI, he could not support the imposition of additional taxes on Bahamians who are already financially strained.

Recently, the Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) urged the government not to waste taxpayer funds to create an “expensive and unnecessary” public insurer, stating that the public has good reason to believe that the proposed scheme will be a burden on the treasury.

The association said that while it supports the goal of universal healthcare, it believes that “every dollar counts when implementing such an expensive undertaking”.

Yesterday Dr Glen Beneby, chief medical officer in the Ministry of Health, said notwithstanding the reservations held by the various stakeholders, he is “confident” that government officials can get sufficient support from those stakeholders in time for the January 1 roll out.

“I am confident that we will get it done,” he said. “We won’t get everyone on board. We will get the key stakeholders on board to meet the benchmark we need to meet for launch in January 2016.”

He added: “We are committed to continuing the dialogue and to bring focus to the areas where we may not be as close as we would like to be. And I am confident, the minister is confident, and the leadership in health is confident that once we continue to dialogue we will achieve a better quality of healthcare for the Bahamian people. And if that is our focus, we will be just all right.”

According to Sanigest, the scheme could cost up to $633m annually if implemented as a comprehensive package. On the low end, NHI could cost around $362m.

However, BIA has estimated it could cost up to $1b annually.

In Sanigest’s NHI report, presented to the government last year, the consultants suggested a payroll tax ranging from one per cent to five per cent to finance NHI. The report also explores various other revenue-raising options, including levying a “sin tax” on alcohol and tobacco.

Another option identified is a tax on auto insurance premiums and increasing the wage ceiling for National Insurance Board (NIB) contributions.

However, the government has said there will be no new tax to fund the roll out of NHI.