“We want to avoid this two-tier system of the rich getting access to this, while nobody whose poor does,” James Cercone, Sanigest Internacional
The quote above from this interview of Mr. Cercone by Tribune Business is revealing indeed.
There was more from Mr. Cercone in the article:
“So many people are dying, and hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent that could be used for other things - paying mortgages, sending children to college, buying a home, expanding a business,” Mr Cercone said.
“When you’re paying $10,000 for a premium it adds up. It cuts down on household spending, cuts down on foreign exchange reserves. These are all things that needs to be done, but will not be done overnight.
So based on these comments the government is going to provide health insurance for free then? But, he goes on:
“In reality, the Government is doing them a favour by not having contributions in the initial phase. This initial phase is a gradual introduction of the system, benefits and all the IT.
“Because of that, the Government recognises it cannot charge a premium in the initial phase. The fact the Prime Minister decided to introduce non-contributory financing in the initial stages shows this is not impactful,” Mr Cercone said.
“This is the gradual introduction of a dramatic system change that’s needed to improve the Bahamian healthcare system.”
So this great system will come at a cost after all.
As health care systems around the world are running deficits and premiums (taxes) are having to be increased to pay for the care we all want, many countries are moving toward two-tier systems, not away from them.
Heck, nationalized health insurance in Canada now costs the average family almost $12,000 per annum.
How will The Bahamas Government health care system, that is even more bureaucratic, wasteful and inefficient be able to provide the care everyone wants at cheaper prices?
Basically "They're going to turn your private hospital into a public institution. They'll do it over a number of years…by the trojan horse of the finance the government provides." (Michael A. Walker June 2007)
But Cercone also said this (in the same interview mind you):
“It’s not an exclusively Government-run system,” Mr Cercone told Tribune Business. “We are inviting the private insurers to compete. If they do a spectacular job, they may get 75 per cent of the market.
So on the one hand the system will be inclusive yet the goal is a single-tier system.
Political doublespeak at its finest. The publicly run system is in trouble so let's remove what works from the equation.
One would think the government should want to bring the standard of the public health care system up to international best practices instead of demonising people that can afford to by insurance and not be more of a burden.
In other words, destroy what seems to be working so we don't look so bad?
At the end of the day Bahamians will pay. Will the quality of care remain the same and the country's deficits continue to grow to pay for the shortfall of this utopia? We'll soon find out.
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