From left are President of the Medical Association of The Bahamas (MAB) Dr. Sy Coolidge Pierre, Bahamas Insurance Association Chairman Emmanuel Komolafe and Vice President of the Bahamas Association of the Primary Care Physicians Dr. Carnille Farquharson during a press conference at MAB headquarters on Sixth Terrace yesterday morning. (Photo: Torrell Glinton)
More than 2,000 healthcare and insurance professionals who strongly oppose National Health Insurance (NHI) in its current form, have formed the United Healthcare Reform Alliance (UHRA).
During a press conference at the Medical Association of The Bahamas (MAB) headquarters on Sixth Terrace yesterday morning, members of the coalition said they are "unequivocally opposed" to the current version of NHI. They also insisted the plan is flawed and unsuitable for The Bahamas.
"Our coalition is calling for real, comprehensive healthcare reform utilizing its members' extensive expertise and experience," said President of the MAB Dr. Sy Coolidge Pierre.
"As the professionals who work in and experience the system on a daily basis, we are in a unique position to understand and propose solutions to the challenges within the current Bahamian healthcare system. We are committed to ensuring that a practical, sustainable and meaningful plan for universal healthcare (UHC) is developed and implemented in The Bahamas. It is time to move away from unworkable proposals that may look good in theory but spell disaster in practical terms."
The MAB president said the UHRA is working on an alternative plan for universal healthcare.
He said the alliance intends to present its plan to the government in the next eight weeks.
"The UHRA remains committed to working in partnership with the government and other stakeholders to ensure that universal healthcare is expanded in a prudent manner in The Bahamas," Pierre said. "We are committed to getting it right and, over the next few weeks, will be working to provide the government with an alternative plan which we feel can help realize practical, sustainable and meaningful united healthcare in The Bahamas."
The coalition is made up of nine professional healthcare and insurance groups: the MAB, the Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA), the Bahamas Association of Physiotherapists (BAP), the Bahamas Doctors Union (BDU), the Bahamas Association of Medical Technologists (BAMT), the Bahamas Association of Primary Care Physicians (BAPCP), the Bahamas Psychological Association (BPA), the Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) and the Bahamas Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA).
The UHRA is advocating for the preservation of customer choice, improvement to public care facilities, informed fiscal planning, a commitment to data protection and corporate governance that addresses the interests of all stakeholders.
According to Vice President of the Bahamas Association of Primary Care Physicians Dr. Carnille Farquharson, the alliance also has serious concerns about the draft NHI bill.
"It appears that the legislation is still going forward," she said. "We cannot stand for this because our patients are in our care and we've established a relationship with them both private and public. What is going to happen to the patient when your primary care physician of 30 or 40 years is no longer able to take part in the current format of universal healthcare?"
The government has not determined when the NHI bill will be tabled in the House of Assembly. The bill was made public in February as a part of its consultation process.
Consultant Physicians Staff Association President Dr. Locksley Munroe also expressed concern with the draft bill.
"The fact that the bill has been delayed with no concrete timeline for tabling in the House of Assembly suggests that this has been a very expensive and disruptive exercise in futility, with the government only now realizing the shortcomings of the proposed model, bill and the entire process," he said.
BIA Chairman Emmanuel Komolafe has, in the past, criticized the government for its lack of consultation with industry stakeholders.
He said yesterday that communication has improved but the BIA is still not satisfied.
"If [NHI] remains this way and there are no changes and the contributions of the stakeholders are not considered or incorporated into the plan, there is no desire to sign on," he said.
"In other words, the UHRA is not satisfied with the current model. So we are not prepared to sign on in its current form. However, that being said, I think the government in recent months has tried to engage stakeholders in a better format and a better way."
The group is calling on the government to delay the implementation of NHI indefinitely.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Perry Christie insisted the government is committed to launching NHI this year. The government had planned to roll out the primary healthcare component of NHI this month, but announced a delay last month following recommendations from new consultant KPMG.
Jasmin Brown
Guardian Staff Reporter
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