The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Government’s decision to eliminate the mandatory legal requirement for all Bahamians and legal residents sign up for National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme has been labelled a “non-starter” by the Opposition’s deputy leader.

K P Turnquest warned that the Government’s NHI enrolment ‘u-turn’ poses a “serious challenge” to its financial sustainability and viability, as the scheme would lack the critical population mass to make it affordable.

“If the system is not mandatory, it is a given that most employers and individuals currently insured will elect to maintain their current coverage, due to the uncertainty of the Government plan and the benefits that will be available - locally and internationally,” Mr Turnquest told Tribune Business.

“This poses a serious challenge for the plan, as surely in order for it to work and be affordable, it will require a critical mass or number of participants in order to make it affordable.

He added: “It is a non-starter in my mind. If you consider that the majority of those uninsured are likely unemployed or under employed, this would mean that the bulk of the finance burden will fall on the Government, which clearly is unsustainable and will result in a mountain of debt, like most of the public health schemes currently in operations around the world. In our case, with our small population, this reality is unbearable.”

The revised NHI Bill was released last week, with the most notable change being the elimination of the mandatory legal requirement for all Bahamians and legal residents to sign up for the scheme.

“It seems to me that the Government is completely lost on what they want to do with NHI, how it will work, the providers necessary to make the system effective, the cost involved or the participants being targeted; it’s one ball of confusion, just like this administration,” said Mr Turnquest.

“As the Government proposes another delay in the introduction of its proposed plan, Bahamians are left to consider the threat of another payroll tax on their already burdened wages, and what this may mean to their family budget and continued employment.

“We are all aware that as payroll cost goes up, companies tend to look for ways to reduce the bill, rightly or wrongly. For months now the Free National Movement (FNM), the Bahamas Insurance Association and the medical professionals have been providing sound advice to this administration and raising the concerns that needed to be addressed, prior to the implementation of any scheme,” he added.

“Unfortunately, despite its claims of substantive consultation, efforts have been met with resistance, leaving the nation in the uncertain state we are in today on many fronts.”

Mr Turnquest said that even with the impending introduction of NHI, patients are being denied first-class service at the nation’s two primary healthcare facilities.

“The Rand Memorial Hospital in Grand Bahama continues to face serious shortages of available in-patient beds, leading to patients being maintained in the emergency room much longer than necessary, creating discomfort and congestion in that area,” Mr Turnquest said.

“Drug shortages are alleged to continue to be a problem. Of course, the mini hospitals in Abaco and Exuma remain unoccupied despite promised opening dates having been set and expired.

“As a country and as a people, we can do better than the PLP, and the FNM has a healthcare plan that includes an extension to the prescription drug programme, introduced as an initial step towards a universal catastrophic health care programme, affordable and accessible to everyone.”