The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The National Health Insurance (NHI) Secretariat last night defended the bidding process for the scheme’s public insurer, arguing that three months was sufficient time given that a “timely roll-out” was required in the New Year.

The Secretariat, responding to concerns raised by Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) president, Emmanuel Komolafe, in an interview with Tribune Business, said any further delay in selecting the public insurer’s manager could “impact implementation timelines” for NHI.

It said the two extensions to the bid deadline had given interested parties three months to respond to the initial Request for Proposal (RFP), a timeline it labelled “sufficient” given that all had access to key documents via a ‘data room’.

“With regards to the RFP process, it should be noted that the deadline for submitting bids was extended twice due to the requests from potential bidders for more time, and due to the passing of Hurricane Matthew,” the Secretariat said in a statement.

“Organisations had access to a data room with key documents, FAQs, the ability to submit questions and receive timely answers, and almost three months to prepare responses.

“Therefore, we believe this was sufficient time to submit proposals. Interested parties had from August 22 to November 21 to complete their bids.”

Reiterating that three bids were received from unnamed Bahamian and international groups, the NHI Secretariat said the proposals were already being assessed to determine the winner that will be recommended to the Christie administration’s Cabinet.

“Any further delay of the deadline for bid submission could impact our implementation timelines, and cause potential delays for the upcoming enrolment phase of NHI Bahamas, and subsequent roll-out of primary care services,” the Secretariat said.

“This means Bahamians in need would have to wait longer before they can start to receive essential health care services.”

Then, employing the emotive language frequently used by the Christie administration to sell the proposed NHI scheme to the Bahamian public, the Secretariat said: “As it stands, approximately 200,000 Bahamians do not have health insurance.

“Many of these persons are opting out of visiting the doctor when they feel sick due to concerns around not being able to afford the treatment they need.

“With NHI Bahamas, these Bahamians in need, and in fact all eligible persons, will be able to get modern, affordable and accessible health care services.”

Mr Komolafe had told Tribune Business that the relatively low number of bids to manage the public insurer, Bahama Care, showed “the cons outweighed the pros” for many BIA members when it came to participating.

While “there was clear interest” from the industry, 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.”