The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest questioned yesterday if the Christie administration will use Hurricane Matthew as an excuse to delay the roll out of National Health Insurance.

Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez said Friday that due to the hurricane, it is likely the first phase of NHI will be delayed.

Pressed on why, Dr Gomez said it “may be logical that there may be some slight delay because of the hurricane.”

Asked about this on Friday, Prime Minister Perry Christie did not give a precise answer.

It is unclear how the hurricane could cause the NHI to be delayed, as officials have not said if damage to public buildings could impact the roll out or if there is a financial problem.

Mr Turnquest said: “The reality is the hurricane has nothing to do with NHI.

“The government indicated from the outset that there’s going to be no taxes, no additional cost as it relates to NHI’s initial phase because they already had the money for it in the budget. The consequence of the hurricane, for which we borrowed $150 million, should therefore have nothing to do with National (Health) Insurance. I think the prime minister is coming to the realisation that NHI is an expensive undertaking, that there’s no such thing as a free lunch and given all the circumstances that exists in the country today, in terms of current debt, recurring debt and negative growth in GDP, NHI is just a bridge too far.

“We really can’t afford that no matter how noble the cause. Hopefully he will not scrap it because there is a desperate need for catastrophic coverage. But this could provide an opportunity to rethink the formula and the plans,” Mr Turnquest added.

Mr Christie said in August that he hopes the primary healthcare phase of NHI is rolled out by January 2017.

His timeline seemed optimistic in light of the fact that government consultants told the press that NHI cannot be implemented until the public insurer is up and running.

While requests-for-proposals were submitted in August for this purpose, with two months to January, it’s unclear how far along the process of selecting a company is.

Observers are also awaiting the release of regulations for NHI’s first phase.