The Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) has asserted that the National Health Insurance (NHI) legislation passed by Parliament makes it less likely that NHI will reduce private health insurance premiums.

In a statement released yesterday, the BIA questioned whether NHI would indeed reduce private health insurance premiums, as Health Minister Dr. Perry Gomez claimed when he said that NHI gives "an opportunity to renegotiate your private plan so that you are able to only pay for the services not currently included under NHI".

"This may not only reduce the cost of your plans, but may allow a greater number of Bahamians access to private health insurance at the lower rates."

The BIA addressed section 21 of the NHI Act, which in summary says that where an individual has private health insurance, the private health insurer will be the primary payer.

Said the association, "Therefore, one can expect that health insurance premium costs will remain as is given that the law directs that privately insured individuals must claim against their private plan, as long as the NHI benefits are covered under those plans."

The BIA said this was a "conscious" choice that the government made.

They asserted that if the government made NHI the primary payer, they could have credibly claimed that the law should reduce the cost of health insurance.

The association also warned that private health insurers have reason to be concerned about the breadth and quality of the network of medical providers that will sign on to deliver NHI benefits.

"Should many of our customer's medical providers not sign on to NHI, insurers will face demands to continue to provide primary care services," they said.

Xian Smith, Guardian Business Reporter

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