The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

SENATOR Dr Duane Sands insisted that Bahamians are going to receive “peanuts and beer” from the Christie administration with the introduction of the controversial National Health Insurance plan and not the “champagne and caviar” that has been promised.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, the prominent surgeon said with around seven months until the 2017 general election, the government sees implementing the healthcare scheme as “politically necessary”.

The Free National Movement senator said that while he would like to endorse National Health Insurance (NHI), he is unable to do so because there are too many unknowns and moving parts, which is proof the initiative is not ready to be rolled out.

The Tribune asked Dr Sands whether he agreed with Prime Minister Perry Christie’s revelation on Monday that he was pushing to have the first phase of NHI implemented by the end of the year or in January 2017.

“It’s coming. It is not ambitious. It is politically necessary to roll out NHI because this administration needs to point to something that they have done,” Dr Sands said.

“They will say we planted the seed and that seed is going to blossom into a giant bean stalk. We are going to be able to get gold from the top and just imagine how good and wonderful this is going to be notwithstanding the fact that they promised there would be no more cookouts and that people would not die at that level and that this would reduce the need for people going into financial ruin once NHI came in.

“And what do we get? We get primary care and $24m to be spent on only God knows what. We don’t know how many patients will benefit from it. We don’t know how much any particular patient will get. We don’t know yet who is going to determine because the regulations are not there.”

He continued: “What people are expecting is a champagne and caviar healthcare system and what they are going to get is beer and peanuts. That is the unfortunate reality.

“No amount of back pedaling or disclaimers is going to change the fact that in order to convince the Bahamian people that they, meaning the PLP, had the interest of the Bahamian people at heart, they promised them the world. They promised them mortgage relief, they promised jobs, they promised Baha Mar (and) they promised NHI.

“What we see in NHI is not a whole lot more than what we have now. What we have is a blank cheque and promissory note and as you know a promise is a comfort to a fool.”

The prime minister earlier this week denied that his government was “misleading” the public by insinuating that “cookouts” will no longer be needed to fund people’s medical expenses once NHI is introduced.

While responding to a statement from FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis in the House of Assembly on Monday, Mr Christie said he has “been clear” from the beginning that NHI’s primary healthcare phase will deal with “preventing catastrophic diseases” and eventually the country will move toward total coverage under the plan.

Dr Minnis claimed that the government “sold the Bahamian people a bill” leading them to believe they will get free treatment for catastrophic illnesses, however he added the primary care phase of NHI is “nothing different” than what is being offered now in the public health system.

The House of Assembly passed the NHI Bill on Monday.