Dr. Nottage, who is responsible for the scheme, was answering charges by critics who insisted that those deductions would be nothing more than poorly disguised income tax.
The National Health Insurance scheme is a financing mechanism to provide greater access to health care for all residents of The Bahamas, and according to Dr. Nottage the intent is that no one will be deprived of health care available in The Bahamas just because they cannot afford that care when it is needed.
Dr. Nottage reiterated that after the Blue Ribbon Commissionﾒs report was issued it was determined that a contribution of 5.3 percent of an employeeﾒs weekly income ought to be made by residents of The Bahamas ﾖ part of which is paid by the employee.
“Some people would wish to call this a tax, but it is not considered by us to be a tax. It is a contribution which one makes toward the health care of oneself and oneﾒs family,” Dr. Nottage said.
“A tax, when it goes into the system, can be used by the government for any purpose, but the contribution that is being made to National Health Insurance will only be used to provide health care for residents and citizens of The Bahamas.”
Dr. Sidney Sweeting, a member of the Bahamas Dental Association, has accused the government of trying to rush the National Health Insurance scheme into being “with an election in mind.” Dr. Sweeting also told the Journal that the so-called consultations ongoing are in fact nothing of the sort.
Under the scheme, residents would make a contribution on a monthly basis, and when a person needs medical care or medication, that person will not have to come up with a large sum of money at the time the service is provided.
Leader of the Bahamian National Party Dr. Dexter Johnson has also sharply criticized what he sees at “the imminent flip-flop of the Christie administration,” pointing out that the prime minister made a “no new tax” promise during the budget debate.
“Yet all the utterances of Health Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage point to the impending imposition of a legislated compulsory deduction from income to fund the so-called National Health Insurance,” Dr. Johnson said.
“This compulsory deduction is nothing but a poorly disguised tax on income and as such would be a gross betrayal of (Prime Minister Christieﾒs) promise.”
But Dr. Nottage insisted that the compulsory deductions do not amount to a tax because persons who cannot afford the care they need because it costs thousands of dollars which those persons do not have will not be faced with that kind of dilemma once the National Health Insurance scheme comes into being.
“All of us will pay, and whenever we need the care, all of us will have access to it, no matter how rich we are or how poor we areﾅor how much it costs,” Dr. Nottage said.
“And that is a considerable benefit, and very, very different from a so-called income tax.”
Dr. Nottage pointed out that the Christie administration enunciated its intent to introduce the National Health Insurance Plan in “Our Plan” ﾖ the PLPﾒs platform document. He reiterated that the Blue Ribbon Commission was appointed in 2002, and asked to make a recommendation as to what type of national insurance scheme ought to be introduced in The Bahamas.
That group reported in 2004. The government accepted its recommendations and made those recommendations and the document itself available to the public for their perusal and discussion.”
Also in 2004, the government asked that a cost study be done to ensure or to determine what such a scheme would cost, how it could be paid for and what type of contribution would be required.
Dr. Nottage added that once that report was issued, the government asked that it be evaluated by an independent source, and actuaries from the International Labour Organization were engaged to do that.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
