By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
AN Opposition Senator yesterday said the revamped National Health Insurance (NHI) proposal raises “more questions than it answers”, arguing that there were “red flags” over its potential economic impact.
Dr Michael Darville, the former minister for Grand Bahama, told Tribune Business that the PLP was “eagerly anticipating” a meeting with the NHI Authority this week to get to the “nuts and bolts” of the latest revisions.
“We are eagerly awaiting a meeting with the NHI Authority to get all the details. We understand the importance of the launch of NHI. We are cautiously optimistic. The economy is very sluggish right now, and the implementation of a new tax on medium and large businesses is a very risky situation,” said Dr Darville.
“We have stated before that in the current economic climate it’s very difficult to talk about adding additional taxes until small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large businesses, get the full understanding of what they are proposing and we see signs of economic recovery.
“This latest proposal still raises a lot more questions than it answers on the way forward, and we want to hear from the horse’s mouth what changes are being made and what is the way forward as it relates to the proposed start date of July 2020.”
The revamped NHI scheme is now set to cost $130m and not the $106m initially proposed. “One of our concerns was that the implementation of NHI must be with simultaneous infrastructural improvements and upgrading the public healthcare facilities,” Dr Darville added.
“It’s going to be very hard to sell a package of universal primary healthcare while trying to create the impression that you have equity across the board from Inagua to Grand Cay, and you are not doing the necessary upgrades to meet the necessary requirements laid out by the NHI Authority/ That means that all the clinics, private and public, must meet a particular standard in order for us to provide the service necessary.”
Dr Darville continued: “In principle I have no problem with NHI. It’s our baby; we birthed it. We were the ones who launched the first phase of the universal primary care network. Universal primary care is a must for your country.
“There are, however, financial implications that have to be watched slowly and timing is important. Wae need to make sure we do things in a way where the programme itself can be sustainable.”
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