The second month of 2016 has ticked over, and despite the supposed beginning of enrolment for the Christie administration's National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, the fact is that the legislation underpinning the scheme has yet to be finalized, approved by the Cabinet, debated in the Parliament and brought into law. In the absence of the legislation, there is nothing for Bahamians to enrol in.
Now, leading voices in the private insurance arena and members of the Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) are urging Bahamians to hold onto their health insurance coverage in the face of the uncertainties of government's NHI plans and risks that lapsed policies may not be renewable.
The insurers issued a statement yesterday on behalf of health insurance brokers, agents and underwriters, prompted by the government's ramped-up NHI public relations campaign. The insurers note that NHI is "a promise the government has said it will deliver, though details are still being worked out and the plan appears to be in the consultative stage."
Family Guardian President Lyrone Burrows; Lynda Gibson, of Atlantic Medical; and Felicia Knowles, of Lampkin and Company Insurance Brokers and Benefits Consultants Ltd., were quoted in the statement.
Burrows pointed out that the government has confirmed its intention to roll out NHI beginning April 2016 with the first phase of this program to include its adapted version of primary care.
"As is the case with most new national health programs, we anticipate that there will be some challenges during the implementation stages. These challenges may be, but are not limited to, lack of access to the provider of your choice, inadequate staffing, less than timely care and a dearth of medical supplies.
"Given the uncertainties that may abound, and based on the government's pronouncement that the initial launch of NHI will not carry a direct cost to the consumer, it would be remiss of me not to recommend to all persons and employer groups currently covered under a private health insurance contract to, if at all possible, maintain their private coverage, which will afford them the best of both worlds.
"They will be able to measure the quality of care available under NHI against that of their private coverage, while at the same time ensuring that their access to all other healthcare services not comprehensively offered by NHI - catastrophic coverage, overseas care, vision, dental, etc. - remains available," Burrows said.
Lynda Gibson, executive vice-president and general manager of Atlantic Medical, meanwhile, was concerned that even a temporary lapse could have serious consequences.
"While we await more details about government's National Health Insurance plan and its specifics, we urge all who are currently holding private health insurance coverage to continue to maintain that coverage and ensure that the benefits their policy provides do not lapse," said Gibson.
Felicia Knowles, who also serves as president of the Bahamas Insurance Brokers Association, said, "There are still a great number of unknowns with regard to the government's plan - what it will cover, whether coverage is limited to local providers, how it will impact private medical care, including long-term nursing or caregiving staff, what its limits for catastrophic illnesses will be.
"NHI is a work in progress. Why would you trade something you know and are sure of for something that is still an unknown, especially when it comes to something as important as your health or the health of a loved one? As insurance professionals, we see claims every day from people who never would have predicted that they would need their coverage but were grateful to have had it when the need did arise."
"Insurance coverage is, in some ways, like relationships," she said. "It is a lot easier to hold on to one than to try to win a lost one back."
The BIA represents 33 firms and an industry considered vital to the financial sector and the economy.
Article by K. Quincy Parker
Nassau Guardian
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