Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald said he will fight to ensure the government implements National Health Insurance (NHI) in a responsible way.

Fitzgerald said health insurance is something that is "near and dear" to his heart.

"I say that because personally I have been impacted by what I would describe as the infliction of catastrophic illness to members of my family who are close me," he said in the House on Wednesday.

"Were it not for medical insurance my wife would not be with me today, nor would my father." Fitzgerald said he does not see a difference between his wife and father, and someone else's wife or father.

"Why should there be a difference simply because I can afford it? Is that the only difference?" he asked.

"Is that how we value a life, by those who could afford and those who cannot?"That's why I will fight along with this government to find the way to ensure that responsibly, we come up with the formula to provide universal medical health insurance."

The government hopes to implement NHI in January 2016. However, a report completed by Costa Rican consultants Sanigest Internacional suggests the government has already missed key targets that would make this implementation date impossible.

According to the report, NHI would cost between $362 million on the low end and $633 million on the high end annually.

The report proposes three revenue scenarios to pay for the scheme,each with varying taxes.

Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union President Nicole Martin has said she believes the Christie administration will tax Bahamians into poverty.

Former Free National Movement (FNM) Deputy Chairman Dr. Duane Sands said the Bahamian people are already overburdened by the implementation of value-added tax and the imposition of an NHI tax would effectively leave many of them broke.

Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said the Free National Movement will not support taxing Bahamians to fund NHI.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian