Private Healthcare Could Cost More Under NHI Changes

Residents who choose private healthcare when the same service is available through the public system could soon face a higher co-pay, Minister for Health and Social Development Vincent Wheatley has disclosed.

Wheatley made the disclosure during a recent community meeting in Virgin Gorda after a resident questioned the sustainability of National Health Insurance (NHI) and complained about some healthcare providers charging patients “an arm and a leg”.

The Ninth District Representative said residents would remain free to choose their healthcare provider, but could be required to pay more for private treatment.

“I would never tell you where to go, but I would encourage you to go to the public system first,” Wheatley said.

“If you choose to go to the private sector, what you are going to find in the very near future, based on the last study we have done, is that your co-pay is likely to change if we have the same service in the public system.”

He added, “It will be your choice if you want to spend more at your private doctor or less at the public system.”

Wheatley said a significant amount of NHI funding currently goes to private healthcare providers, but he wants more of that money directed towards strengthening public healthcare.

“Right now, a lot of money is being spent in the private system from NHI, but I would like to see that money reversed into the public system to improve our public health,” he stated.

Doctors In Business To Make $$

The minister also alleged that some private doctors order numerous tests because healthcare is a business and they are paid for the services provided.

“The doctors are in business to make money, and if you go to a private doctor, he is going to give you a whole heap of tests, even what you do not need,” Wheatley claimed.

He said an auditing mechanism has been introduced to ensure that tests charged to NHI are medically warranted and do not unnecessarily reduce the benefits available to patients.

According to Wheatley, the Government is undertaking major changes to NHI, including reviewing co-payments and other areas affecting the programme’s sustainability. He said reforms are also being considered across Social Security and the wider social protection system.

Wheatley said a study conducted before NHI was introduced advised that its funds should not be used until the programme had accumulated one year of savings. However, he claimed the system began paying major claims immediately and never established the recommended financial cushion.

He recalled that a motorcycle accident occurred on the first day of the programme and said NHI “never caught itself since that day”.

“NHI came on stream in 2015, and the study launched with NHI said something very simple: do not dip into NHI until one year of cumulative savings, so that you ensure it remains viable,” Wheatley explained.

He said he is now attempting to address problems dating back more than a decade, describing NHI as a complex system.

Opposition Member and former Health Minister Ronnie Skelton, who helped establish NHI, has also called for reforms while maintaining that the programme remains vital.

In July, Skelton raised concerns about inconsistencies in how NHI approves financial assistance and called for officials to appear before the House of Assembly to explain the programme’s policies and operations. He also offered to work with Wheatley to address the problems