The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE president of the United Haitian and Bahamas Association said migrants are being unfairly labelled a burden on public healthcare, claiming they pay more in the system than citizens.

Michael Telarin said the narrative about this “must swing a different way” after the Progressive Liberal Party promised on Wednesday to require migrants to carry health insurance or enrol in a new scheme if it is reelected.

“The government is trying to find the best way to appease the people by saying, ‘Well, this is what I'm going to put in place,” he said. “We have to see how it's going to roll out. What is the process?”

Mr Telarin said migrants who work often pay into NIB — whether directly or through their employer — but still face out-of-pocket costs when seeking medical care.

“You have to go to the hospital, and if you go to the hospital, you have to pay for the services,” he said.

“You have to come up with your funds upright and pay for it. For the most part, they are doing it. So, the burden of healthcare on migrants, I kind of have my opinion on that, because they have to pay, and they have to pay more than the citizens of the country, but that conversation of them being a burden, I think the conversation must swing a different way.”

In fact, NIB is not a health insurance system, and contributions do not cover the cost of medical care for anyone, migrant or otherwise, instead providing benefits such as sickness, maternity and employment injury coverage.

While backing tougher immigration enforcement, Mr Telarin said the PLP’s platform overlooked a longstanding issue: delays in processing applications for people seeking legal status.

“Those persons who are legitimate, those persons who are legal, or who have applied legally, and you have already done your vetting, you already done your process, then the word should be whether it's going to be six months, whether it's going to be a year, what is the wait time for that process?” he said.

The PLP has proposed expanding enforcement tools, including a National Biometric Immigration System, biometric e-gates and stricter penalties for employers and public officers involved in immigration breaches.

But Mr Telarin said the real test will be whether those measures are enforced consistently, warning that gaps have long undermined immigration policy.

“Oftentimes, it's not that we are not enforcing it, but you have loopholes,” he said. “So there's a number of elements, a number of surprises, a number of loopholes that the government have to look at and we have to look at it holistically, not just for campaign rhetoric.”