The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Insurance Association’s (BIA) chairman says the relatively low number of bids to manage the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme’s public insurer shows “the cons outweighed the pros” for many of his members.

Emmanuel Komolafe, in an interview with Tribune Business, said initial feedback from BIA members showed “there was clear interest” in bidding on the management contract for Bahama Care, the scheme’s public insurer.

However, Peter Deveaux-Isaacs, the permanent secretary heading up the NHI Secretariat, last week said three bids had been received from unnamed Bahamian and international parties by the bid deadline.

While unable to comment on the quality of the proposals, as they and the identities of the bidders have not been disclosed, Mr Komolafe said there were several factors that may have discouraged Bahamian firms from participating.

Although the bid deadlines were extended twice, the last time because of Hurricane Matthew, the BIA chairman said there were “certain restrictions, stipulations and unique requirements” that may have made the process unattractive to Bahamian companies.

“As indicated upon the initial release of the RFP, the timeframes were quite ambitious and tight,” Mr Komolafe told Tribune Business.

“In spite of the extended deadlines, arguably the short timelines did not allow for broader participation which could have resulted in the submission of several robust proposals by both local and international firms from which the nation could choose.”

He added: “In addition, certain restrictions, stipulations and unique requirements within the RFP seem to have rendered the process unattractive to a number of local firms.

“Presumably, certain firms would have conducted a cost benefit analysis considering the cost of putting a viable proposal together within the limited timeframe, the potential impact on their operations, the amount of proprietary information demanded, and the probability of being successful in winning the bid against the financial gains in potential fees in order to arrive at a decision on whether or not to submit a proposal.”

Mr Komolafe did not identify these ‘restrictions’, but the Bahama Care management services Request for Proposal (RFP) stipulated that the public insurer will not be able to provide products known as ‘supplemental’ or ‘top up’ insurance policies.

These offer greater benefits and coverage than NHI, and are seen by the private sector as potentially providing a key earnings stream beyond the proposed government-run scheme.

And, while the public insurer is restricted solely to offering NHI benefits packages to the Bahamian public, the selected management/operating partner is also barred from providing these policies separately via its existing network.

“Based on feedback received from BIA members, it was very clear that there was interest in exploring the opportunity to manage the public RHA (registered health administrator) in an effective and efficient manner,” Mr Komolafe told Tribune Business.

“In the end, it is apparent based on the number of local bids or proposals, that the cons outweighed the pros for majority of our members.”

He added: “Another important point of consideration would have been the level of uncertainty and number of unknowns regarding the roles of the Government as owner of the public RHA, and the role of the private company engaged to manage the proposed Public RHA. This made it difficult to assess the inherent risks associated with the proposed management or administration contract.”

Mr Komolafe said the BIA remained committed to a Universal Health Coverage (UHC) model for the Bahamas, and “an affordable, sustainable, modern and accessible healthcare system”.

The only difference is on the best model and method for getting there.

“We had advocated for robust legislation and regulations within a market-based framework as an alternative to achieve the same ultimate goal,” the BIA chairman added.