Even with NHI BVIHSA will not be able to meet projected expenses – Bishop John I. Cline
He was speaking last night November 17, 2015 on the Speak Out BVI show aired on ZBVI 780 AM and hosted by Doug Wheatley.
The show had a panel of guests that included Natalio D. Wheatley aka Sowande Uhuru, Winston E. Nibbs aka La Fontey and Edmund G. Maduro.
“The real objective before Government is to build a quality healthcare system...In doing so, the current model that’s employed is where the Government provides a subvention of ‘x’ amount of dollars and the institution is then expected to bill for services and raise the difference to pay for the expansion and the improved quality and the variety of services that we offer,” said Cline.
“The present way in which it is done is not sustainable. One of two things would happen: we would have to cut back on services and reduce our ability to deliver healthcare or we would have to increase cost,” he said, adding that the increases that he speaks of would be over and above the increases already mandated for the hospital.
He said that when the BVIHSA asks the Government for $32 million they got only $27 million and added that this was before they transitioned to the new Peebles Hospital. “Next year our budget is about $47 million and Government has already said that even with the National Health Insurance we will only probably be able to get $40 million, so we are still $7 million in the hole,” he said.
Overseas costs astronomical
He said when the Government talks about building this healthcare system they are talking about attracting services whether it be oncology, or renal services. The BVIHSA Chairman added that when Government cannot provide those service then persons with the ailments that need those services have to be sent overseas for treatment. He said the medical costs overseas are “astronomically” higher than what they are locally.
Bishop Cline lamented that the local healthcare system hardly benefits from the insurance money from the private insurance plans as the policyholders usually seek healthcare overseas.
No one denied healthcare at Peebles Hospital
The BVIHSA Chairman said that if a person is under 16 and over 65 then the Government is responsible for their healthcare.
“Or if persons are between those ages and do not have insurance and they have to be flown out,” he added.
“Our policy is no one should be denied healthcare whether they can pay or not, whether they have insurance or not. We would not deny anyone healthcare. If we have to fly them out we are $7 million short already. We don’t have money to pay for the air ambulance,” he said.
He noted that the air ambulance companies usually ask for about $20,000 upfront per patient and thus it is difficult when the authority is already in the red with its finances.
Bishop Cline said that there are recognised challenges but “we will fix what we can and we will leave the rest for someone else because we are not there forever and we have term limits.”
He said they are just trying to set the roadmap, build the infrastructure and leave the processes and procedures in place so that the next person who comes along does not have to reinvent the wheel in terms of healthcare.
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25 Responses to “Even with NHI BVIHSA will not be able to meet projected expenses – Bishop John I. Cline”
A bag of bull sh*t, the head of our health department is a bishop and not a person why a PhD in the medical field.
I hear some making the argument that the NHI needs a larger pool of contributors hence the justification behind the mandate. However if you consider it carefully you will see that the contributors who have to give up their private insurance will come with their own pre-existing conditions previously covered by their insurance. As well there will be children, elderly and emergency cases who would have otherwise been covered by private insurance that the NHI now has to cover. We are talking about thousands of individuals accessing the local health care system that lacks the capability to deal with that influx but that is not the only problem: The system will now have to pay millions extra to cover them.
Again what was needed was to focus on the uninsured and get them compulsory coverage under the NHI then implement a 2% tax for those who have insurance and that way you eliminate having to overburden the system with claims and usage. You only benefit from their contributions. This is not rocket science, is only common sense.
have a lot to gain.. double standard. A conflict of the highest order. All about getting paid. That's why they holding on so tight to this woman. She is a facilitator for these mis deeds. If the health services was returned back to the ministry of health. The savings can be significant I am talking millions here folks. The BVIHSA is a big drain on our system. All of these over inflated salaries