Wednesday, February 3, 2016
By DENISE MAYCOCK
Tribune Freeport Reporter
dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
MARCO City MP Gregory Moss adamantly opposes National Health Insurance, which he says is really about charging Bahamians a second time for access to public health care that they are already paying for now through taxes paid to the government.
“National Health Insurance is not about universal health care; NHI is about paying for universal health care, and that is an important distinction,” he said.
“We need to talk about the real problem which is how to fix the system so it works for average Bahamians without trying to find an excuse to charge them a second time for what they are already paying for – that is why I oppose National Health Insurance(NHI).
“I will not support taxing people again for the same thing they are already paying for and I will not support the continuation of a system where we are allowing private doctors to use public facilities to make private money to go in their pocket when that should be in the public hospitals with public machines and public doctors serving public patients,” he said.
Mr Moss said the government allocates $300 million a year for public hospitals and clinics.
He said that NHI is just a way to get money from the people for a public hospital they are already paying for.
“When people go to a public hospital they aren’t going there free, they are already paying through their taxes. Roughly $300m they are paying already together. We need to stop pretending with the people that we do not have public health care.”
Mr Moss said the government is using the same public health facilities, and are trying to convince Bahamians that the only way the public clinics and hospitals can work is if they give government more money through a NHI tax so it could buy more equipment and hire more doctors.
“They say tricky words like universal health care, but we already have that,” he said. “They (the government) may also say you don’t want to have to pay at the point of care, but we don’t pay at the point of care now,” said Mr Moss.
He explained that the money Bahamians spend paying taxes are collected by the Public Treasury, and a cut comes out of that already for public hospitals and clinics.
“That is NHI. It is first about getting you to pay a second time for universal health care, but it is worse than that, it is also pushing some people out of the ability to access the public hospital because they are no are longer going to be called public hospital, but national health hospital and you need to be able to pay a new tax.
“Why would you give up your right to access that free public health care now for a new system where you have to pay for that, and where you have to fall into new regulation for you to access that – none of that makes any sense,” he said.
Mr Moss stressed that the public health system is not working properly and the real question is what can be done to fix it so that it does function properly.
He said the government has signed an agreement with a group called Physicians Alliance, where they use private doctors in the public hospitals.
“They are using public money in a public hospital and public equipment to see private patients,” he said.
He stressed that all persons seeking care in the public hospitals should be able to see the doctors who are hired by government and work for the government using the same equipment they have in the private hospitals, with government money.
“The public hospitals have to be equipped as private hospitals because the money is there for it. The private doctors have admitting access if they have an emergency, but that is not the same as saying they get to operate their practices at the public hospital that is taking up a lot of space in our hospitals.”
The government has started registration for NHI, by way of the National Insurance Board (NIB). The new NIB smart card, which was launched in 2014, will be used as the primary tool for identifying persons that are eligible for NHI services.
Comments
observer2 says...
The government loves to double and triple tax Bahamians and then wonder why the country can't grow, unemployment is so high and crime is out of control. No amount of national plans, international loans to audit the government, constitutional amendments will compensate for ignorance. These projects only serve to enrich the professional class.
Take for example the triple tax on goods brought into the country. First duty is charged, then VAT is charged on top of duty and then the merchant has to pay a business license fee on gross sales (the same items sold to its customers). That's a triple tax!
Double and triple taxing a product is a dis-insensitive to spend and grow the economy.
So here we go again with NHI. Greg Moss is right why should we pay to go to PMH when we are paying for it already to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year? Why would collecting hundreds of millions more in medical insurance taxes make the system more efficient and save lives? Like the VAT money all that will happen is that the money is wasted and the Country will be in even further debt.
Why should private doctors be able to use PMH at subsidized prices? Again the professional class getting handouts at the expense of the poor.
Shame.
Posted 3 February 2016, 2:31 p.m. Suggest removal
TruePeople says...
said it all observer2
Posted 3 February 2016, 4:53 p.m. Suggest removal
evalynC says...
Moss's comments make no sense whatsoever. He doesn't seem to have the interest of poor Bahamians at heart in any way whatsoever. It's hard to believe he was ever a member of the PLP.
Its poor Bahamians who are loosing out when there is no NHI. Its poor Bahamians who pay millions of dollars every year to get nonsensical policies from companies like Family Guardian for useless little "home service polices" that only serve to line the pockets of the rich.
Moss is an anti-Robin Hood aiming to maintain the status quo.
Someone needs to start looking out for Bahamian consumers - and I'm glad the PLP is starting to come around to this. Its better to pay premiums into the NHI and reap some real benefits than to have poor people being taken advantage of with poor quality products.
Posted 4 February 2016, 6:05 a.m. Suggest removal
TruePeople says...
and the plp don't take advantage of the poor .............. o_0 !!!
Posted 4 February 2016, 2:04 p.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
**.................. MP Gregory Moss is absolutely, unquestionably, 100% correct! ..................**
Existing health care services as all government run services are obviously now financed by revenue collected by government through various means of taxation.
As Mr. Moss rightfully suggests, what the PLP are actually doing underhandedly is using NHI as an excuse to tax Bahamians again for something we already pay for.
This in an effort "free up" an additional $400M+ which they can then direct into other areas to cover shortfalls and failure to stimulate the economy.
YES, we do need NHI. But we must firstly consider the cost for health care is already accounted for in taxes now being paid by the people.
***Hang in there Mr. Moss. We are with you!***
Posted 4 February 2016, 10 a.m. Suggest removal
evalynC says...
Uneducated and misguided response
Posted 9 February 2016, 5:39 a.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
**Enlighten us Mr. Genius where government now derive revenue to fund existing health care?**
Posted 9 February 2016, 9 a.m. Suggest removal
Well_mudda_take_sic says...
Re-post: Money the corrupt Christie-led PLP government proposes to take from honest hardworking Bahamians under the guise of a NHI program would be squandered in the way our National Insurance funds have been squandered. The corrupt Christie-led PLP government have proven they are totally incompetent in running the country's finances.....just look at how Christie and his buffoons have run the Bank of The Bahamas, the Post Office Savings Bank, BEC, the Public Dump (and its fires), Water & Sewerage Corp., and just about every other government department, agency and corporation. Can you just imagine brain-dead Christie, whose robo-mouth seems to be forever on auto pilot espousing nothing but hot air tripe, and his moronic sidekicks running a government that will call all of the shots when it comes to your medical needs! All Bahamians should shudder at the very thought of this. No health care at all would be better than very poor quality health care that frequently kills, which is all that Christie and his fellow bozos would ever be capable of forcing on Bahamians and their children. Woe is me, shame on Christie and his political family of thugs!!
Posted 5 February 2016, 10:28 a.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
Greg Moss should not waste his opportunity to be re-elected to the HOA ........ we need him there to speak TRUTH to POWER .......... he is one damn sensible politician in a million
Posted 6 February 2016, 5:16 p.m. Suggest removal
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