The Tribune

THERE is a painful tradition in The Bahamas that perhaps, at last, the time has come to bring to an end.

We see it regularly – cookouts to raise money for medical bills, or GoFundMe accounts online as patients turn to their social networks in their time of need.

Aside from the question of whether it is right for people in their darkest hour to have to ask others for a handout just to stay alive, many such appeals are inefficient – one in three GoFundMe appeals are for medical costs, but only one in ten of those are successful. That leaves a lot of people falling short, wondering how to pay their medical bills.

Yesterday’s proposal that every employed Bahamian pay two per cent of their salary each month to fund universal healthcare is a step towards being more responsible about our brothers and sisters.

Universal healthcare may be the goal – but it will not be universally welcomed at first. No one likes to think about having to pay more money to the government, and there will be concerns about the effects on private healthcare plans where customers are perfectly happy with their coverage.

Fears will have to be eased that those of us putting our hands deeper into our pockets to pay for it all will get value for that money – and that spending will be transparent enough that we can see the benefits.

If the government meets that threshold, then the new plan to increase healthcare coverage for all will be very welcome.

A health blow can come to any of us, unexpectedly, and with no care as to whether we have the money in the bank to pay for the treatment. Across the water in the US, medical bills are cited as the number one cause of people filing for bankruptcy. Such bills can come in a moment, are involuntary and are often very large. Faced with a huge bill for a chance at life – or for the chance of a loved one’s life – people go heavily into debt in the hope of success, and are left with devastated finances whether or not that success comes to pass. Even some of the most successful figures have been left to raise funds as they battle health issues – it is the great leveller.

It is time, then, to draw a line. Each of us will give from our pay packets to create a fund that will cover more of those costs for all of us. No one will be excluded or charged more because of existing pre-conditions, another advantage for those who have found themselves with high insurance bills or being denied completely because of previous health battles or conditions they have had since childhood.

The treatments and screenings available will embrace some of the most common challenges facing Bahamians – the high incidence of breast and cervical cancer in women, prostate cancer in men, heart problems, dialysis and more.

This will not push out the private health insurance market – but will dramatically increase the range of treatment available to all.

Dr Robin Roberts, chairman of the National Health Insurance Authority, estimates the cost to each person will be around the cost of four Kalik beers. That doesn’t seem too much, but before the scheme is introduced, perhaps it will be appropriate to raise one more together, and toast the good health of all our Bahamian brothers and sisters.