By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

TWO years after Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville announced that the government’s catastrophic healthcare fund would be audited, details about the fund are still unknown.

In recent budgets, the Davis administration allocated $10m as a catastrophic healthcare fund to help Bahamians who need costly healthcare services.

The administration has not revealed how much has been spent, how many people have benefited, and how eligibility or the application process is determined.

In July 2022, Dr Darville said the programme would undergo a full audit and that “serious” guidelines would be established for its spending. He reiterated in April that the programme would be audited, adding that individuals suffering from cardiovascular, orthopaedic, and oncological conditions had received assistance.

Asked yesterday for an update on the audit, he said: “There’s a line item in my ministry and the Ministry of Finance is the one who’s responsible for auditing. I’ll have to get back to you to let you know the exact time when the complete audit will be finished.”

In April, former Health Minister Dr Duane Sands criticised the lack of transparency surrounding the catastrophic healthcare fund. He raised concerns about the programme’s administration while supporting the initiative and recognising its potential impact.

“Who qualifies?” Dr Sands asked. “Who makes the determination and so on and so forth, because you’re talking about $10m of the public’s money. We would like to know how much of that money has been spent. How much has been spent weekly? How much is spent monthly?”

Dr Darville has previously responded to Dr Sand’s criticism by claiming that the Davis administration has been an “open book” regarding the programme.

Yesterday, Dr Darville also said officials are finalising a process to expand coverage for the 44,000 members under the National Insurance Board’s prescription drug plan to include NHI members with chronic non-communicable diseases.

He said a new NHI Bill will facilitate this and is currently with the Attorney General’s Office.