Just as it is mandatory for every employer and employee to participate in the National Insurance scheme, it would also be mandatory for them to participate in the national health plan when it becomes operational, according to the local doctor who headed the Blue Ribbon Commission on National Health Insurance.
“There is no exemption in the national health scheme,” Dr. Perry Gomez told The Bahama Journal. “Everybody must participate; that’s the only way it could work because everything is calculated on the entire population being involved.”
Just last week, Minister of Health Dr. Marcus Bethel said the government still did not have in hand any specific projections for how much the scheme will cost, but he revealed some figures regarding the rate of contributions.
“Contributions will be shared equally between employers and employees,” Dr. Bethel explained at a press conference.
“Self employed workers would have to contribute the full amount. The government is satisfied that the proposed contribution rate of 5.3 percent is adequate to meet financing requirements of the plan and should also be affordable to the large majority of the working population.”
He said a worker, for example, with earnings of $1,800 per month will be asked to contribute $50 for comprehensive coverage.
Dr. Gomez said in an interview with The Bahama Journal that the proposed rate is reasonable.
“People may have concerns initially, but I think when they sit down and see the figures and see what all people will get [they’ll accept it],” he said.
“The minister has asked us to increase the public education about the scheme and so we are very encouraged by that. As estimated, the cost is affordable to the average person, no doubt about it.”
Despite fears that some people in the insurance industry may have, Dr. Gomez assured that a national health insurance will not drive them out of business.
“We’re not trying to put private insurers out of business. They will have their segment-the important thing is equity and universality,” Dr. Gomez said.
“I’m no expert in this field. I’ve learnt over the past three years; the experts tell us that in all of the country where national health [insurance] has been introduced private health insurance has done better.”
He said the same is expected to happen in The Bahamas.
“We anticipate that private insurers would change what they do because the national health scheme will cover the major components of risk, and so the cost of private health insurance should come down because the major risk is being covered by the national health system,” Dr. Gomez explained.
“If you still want private health insurance to cover the things that the national health system may cover then you do that. If you want a private room; if you want television; if you want second and third opinions; if you want cosmetic surgery at will rather than the medically indicated cosmetic surgery, you have your private insurance.”
The health minister said last week that the national health insurance scheme will pay for visits to doctors at government and privately owned hospitals and clinics; cover drugs prescribed by physicians; laboratory tests; surgical operations; hotel room and board; and overseas care not available in The Bahamas.
Source: The Bahama Journal
