The Tribune

SINCE launching last week, 6,500 Bahamians have registered under the enrolment phase of National Health Insurance (NHI), officials said yesterday in a press statement.

However they were unable to say when these people will be able to begin receiving primary care services, only saying that this will happen “as soon as possible”.

The enrolment process is ongoing and Bahamians are encouraged to enrol online at www.nhibahamas.gov.bs, or in-person at several enrolment locations in New Providence.

These are:

Cotton Tree Plaza at Bernard Road, Fox Hill - 9am to 7pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturday

Enoch Beckford Memorial Auditorium on Carmichael Road - 9am to 7pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm Saturday

New Providence Community Centre on Blake Road - 9am to 7pm Monday to Friday.

Residents in the Family Islands can enrol online or in person at their local NIB office.

The NHI Secretariat, the press statement said, has also started to set up pop up enrolment sites in an effort to bring enrolment to as many communities as possible.

The first popup enrolment event was held outside the Mall at Marathon on Saturday, April 29.

Prime Minister Perry Christie last week heralded the “historic” launch of the enrolment phase of NHI, expressing his delight in serving as the nation’s leader while “ushering in” one of the “most significant interventions in the history of this country.”

With the launch, Bahamians will now be able to choose their primary care physician from a list of over 60 doctors, which include family medicine practitioners, general practitioners, internists, obstetricians, gynaecologists and paediatricians.

The government ultimately plans to have between 140 and 150 primary care providers (PCPs) incorporated into NHI, with plans to augment the private sector offering with the services of primary care providers in the public sector, the Department of Public Health and the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA).