The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The National Health Insurance (NHI) secretariat is continuing to work on the primary care phase roll-out, despite doubts that the scheme will be ready before the May 2017 general election.

Dr Delon Brennen, the NHI project manager, joined Dr Mark Britnell, chairman and senior partner of KPMG’s global health practice, in telling the Rotary Club of East Nassau that NHI enrollment would begin in early 2017.

They did not give a specific date, with Dr Brennen saying: “In early 2017 we will have enrollment. What we are saying is people will be able to go to their primary care provider to have services delivered.”

Dr Brennen said the enrollment numbers would give a good indication of how many providers (doctors) are needed.

As for the manager for NHI’s proposed public insurer, Dr Brennen added: “They have shortlisted them and are making the selections. With the shortlisted candidates they have gone through the presentations so they can make a choice.

“They have ranked them, and so they are awaiting approval from Cabinet to say ‘OK, we agree with this that this is the recommended firm’, and we will extend contract negotiations with them.”

Dr Brennen said that once that is done it should take long for the selected firm to start the public insurer’s operations.

“The good thing we’re talking about is choosing a provider who has experienced in doing it, and has done it in other countries or country, and it shouldn’t take them much time to do so because they are setting up a management structure to be able to run the insurance product,” he added.

The NHI Secretariat announced last November that three bids had been received from unnamed Bahamian and international parties by the bid deadline.

The first phase of NHI has been pegged at a cost of $100 million by KPMG, the Government’s hired consultants. Primary care services under NHI were originally set to begin in April 2016.