Exorbitant costs! NHI blasts private facilities for high copay fees
Deputy Director of the National Health Insurance (NHI), Roy Barry, has blamed private healthcare facilities for the high copayment fees seen by NHI users.
According to Barry who appeared before the Standing Finance Committee (SFC) during budget deliberations late last year, the difference in copay fees is not a result of NHI.
The Deputy Director made the assertion after Junior Minister for Trade and Economic Development, Shereen Flax-Charles, said copay is higher when using NHI versus private insurance. She had also noted that it is a change she supports and for which she would lobby.
The junior minister further said the services at BVI Health Services Authority (BVIHSA) are often higher than at private facilities, which would affect public confidence as the cost is also an issue, especially for accessing services on Virgin Gorda.
But Barry told the SFC that NHI utilises a Usual and Customary Rate (UCR) fee schedule, a set payment that NHI would disperse to medical facilities.
He further advised that a variation is passed to the public as private facilities can balance the bill.
Barry related that the NHI’s UCR fee is lower than what private insurance providers cover, hence the difference in copay.
Should unemployed persons pay NHI?
Meanwhile, Flax-Charles stated during the SFC meeting that she received several complaints, including questions on why the unemployed must continue paying contributions without income.
However, the Deputy Director explained that once a person becomes unemployed, they should contact NHI to agree on a way forward, whether to agree to pay as a voluntary contributor with the option of a decreased contribution or apply for indigence.
Flax-Charles expressed that there should be a public campaign on matters related to NHI as many members of the populace do not understand the requirements.
She suggested an educational campaign targeting the different age groups within the territory.
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That NHI wasn’t well thought out before it was implemented
Also, once it was finalized, every LOCAL medical centre/Dr’s office almost triple the prices. So we only have one set of people to blame. Locals. BVIslanders love screwing their own people, it’s comical!
Because I see what one of the local places now charging government NHI vs what they used to charge my insurance for asthma issues and the place should be wearing a ski mask……..
Brother man I needs to live large.
How will I be able to buy every property in the BVI available for sale.
That should have been addressed from the get-go.
The private medical facilities got excited when NHI came on board. They knew why.
Its the government’s fault for not putting price controls in place when they created NHI
They were helping their rich cronies get richer
was/is very bullheaded
The way out of this is to make Peebles the no.1 medical facility, a one stop shop.
They need to put a stop to doctors working Peebles and the private clinics at the same time where they funnels clients to the private clinics to collect higher fees.
Problem is, the people in government who introduced this, are in some way related to the people that profit from it. Usual story.
Cart before the horse. This should have been considered before rolling out a mandatory scheme.
From the time NHI was introduced all the private medical facilities prices went up. Now that there is a Pandemic they feeling the pinch
The bad thing is every Tom dick harry pam and Lucy was saying NHI cannot work the way the govt intended. Govt never listened. Their heart was probably in the right place but their head was not. The other problem is the private clinics who all of a sudden saw the dollar signs. You could not go to the doc with a cold without leaving with 5 or more medications. Normal checkups that should cost a maximum of $75 now cost close to $300. Doctors who worked at the hospital opened private clinics. NHI is now building 2 hospitals although they don’t own them. These people have no conscience. How they sleep at night is beyond me!
From the moment NHI came out.. is like all those medical places won the lottery.. all prices double or triple and not a soul do anything about it.. look government crying now..
NHI was never sustainable for a small population as is in the BVI. Better off people had good insurance coverage already which they maintain. There should have been a small increase in payroll tax which was used to provide medical help for people with no medical insurance, and the prices charged controlled, in the way private insurers can, if they choose to.
Unfortunately NHI, which is a worthy idea, has become another vehicle to channel tax payer’s (most of whom can’t vote) money from the government to a few people in the private medical sector. Everyone with a brain in their head know this would not be sustainable when it was introduced.
Gov want to change it now to stop who comes next getting benefits they getting now. Greed and jealousy run this place.
How much each practioner makes should be made public every year. Also, the amounts paid for each service by NHI. Like for X-rays etc. These things need to be publicized don’t just bring talk.
Greed! The more they private have the more they want. Bunch of ..oks
When things such as national healthcare insurance are established in a country isn’t it general practice that participating establishments are given set standard prices for cases and procedures to avoid price gauging and inflated costs??? Was this done Black Mr Clean or did you all just race this NHI to the public in hopes of milking the public without looking at all aspects?
A SHARK WILL EAT ITS OWN KIND, THESE PREDATORS DON’T SLEEP AT NIGHT , THEY STUDY WAYS AND MEANS FOR THE NEXT DAY ON HOW TO EXPLOIT / AND MANIPULATE ANOTHER HUMAN FOR THE MOST $$$ THAT THEY CAN GET WITH A SMILE ?
NHI didn’t stand a chance because of the conflict of interest. There were ministers of government who would personally benefit. In addition, having close ties to particular persons who would stand to gain the most from NHI was always a huge concern but they refused to address it. Those ministers/former ministers are now sitting back and watching the cookie crumble. Their mouths are sealed shut! I hope that their conscience torments them as NHI could have been a beautiful thing if they had been honest.
NHI would have been a beautiful thing if they had been honest. Truth right there.
NHI was implemented by NDP while they had 3 healthcare providers serving in the Government. One of the ministers who served with NDP at the time of the passing of the legislation is the brother of the largest private health care provider in the BVI. Nowhere in the world would that have been allowed without an ounce of scrutiny. The few people that benefited from NHI and still benefit to this day are the private healthcare providers including the 3 former members who still are actively involved in the field. Government is losing and employers are losing as some still kept their private insurance for their staff.
NHI has not seen a profit in the 5 years of its existence when ironically one of the given reasons for its implementation was to reduce the cost government had to pay for uninsured persons who got injured and government would bear the cost in such cases which I know was barely a fraction of the losses we have right now.
The COI missed an opportunity to investigate this because it just doesn’t add up how we can continue to lose millions yearly. Eventually they will be forced to either cut NHI completely or raise the amount to be paid by employees or employers and that would be a disaster.
Need to go back to the days when the Government paid about $50Million to fund the health service without NHI. Others that wanted it had private health care and providers. Then came NHI and everyone forced to use it and pay a huge tax out their wages to pay for it. Net result is the Government still pays $50 Million we all pay millions in NHI tax and it all goes to Private Health care companies controlled by friends of friends. QED. Putting our money into the pockets of friends for no return for the nation. LOVE
NHI became like Doctors selling hot bread and cheese, you in you out, no time to waste, next patient. They stop producing care it was now about greed and money.. Time for change. I blame Ronnie for this mess…Who will fix it..?
Thanks to Ronnie and others of the then NDP….This NHI is far worst than the Biwater deal
The public been telling you all that from the very start,Medical patients been complaining bitterly of the 100% increase in cost but as usual, you all are not good at listening…1 went to a caribbean Island to do a procedure and my cost is less than my co-pay here and it was professionally done. So Stop talking resign let people with courage coming and make the changes..
NHI became like Doctors selling hot bread and cheese, you in you out, no time to waste, next patient. They stop producing care it was now about greed and money.. Time for change. I blame Ronnie for this mess…Who will fix it..?
YOU RELLY CAN’T MAKE THIS S**T UP!
Let’s just say the private health community providers did ask for higher fees when they negotiated fees with NHI. This could be for the reason that it is more expensive (more paper work etc. and often a long waiting time before payment by NHI). Ok but NHI did not have to agree to the fee
proposals put forward by the prospective providers. For example if say the average fee charged for an exam by most practitioners before NHI’s establishment was $50, NHI could have insisted on that same fee as their benchmark for payment despite any increased fee(s) pracitioners wanted. If the provider couldn’t or wouldn’t accept NHI’s benchmark fee he/she/they had the choice of not enrolling as an NHI provider OR passing on the higher co-pay to their patients
For those who think socialized health services is the answer, be forewarned. This will result in sub-standard health services and all parties will suffer. Perhaps then supermarket prices, lawyers’ fees, accountants’ fees, carpenter’s/masons’/plumbers’ and gardeners’fees to include just a few, should also be socialised to be fair.Try doing this and see what the results will be.
Having said all this perhaps the NHI system could do with some changes. First, a strong method of ensuring payment of all due contributions should be established and enforced. Secondly NHI may want to lower their benchmark on payment of fees for certain procedures especially the more expensive ones. They might also want to consider reasonable deductibles. None of these changes however would necessarily make it any cheaper for patients under our free market system, but the alternative is not a rosy one.