National Health Insurance (NHI)

News Comment - August 2011

The NHI 'green paper' promulgation is an advance and improvement on the previously sketchily outlined details provided, and it now seems as if the authorities are starting to get to grips with the realities of providing a much needed nationwide healthcare delivery service.

Concentration will be aimed at ‘grass roots’ levels, with the intention being to provide, improve upon and uplift a ‘sagging’ country- wide current delivery process. The health ministry rightly agrees that this is vital for the improvement of the country's morale and economic viability, and is an essential ingredient in the process of levelling the countries productive playing fields and opening the way for general upliftment. Everyone deserves the right to decent health delivery and the right to the confidence of knowing that his or her government cares for all and not just those who are economically privileged to enjoy the private healthcare industry sector.

Of course the ‘drilling down’ or ‘fine details’ need to be rolled out and this will take time and may need funding even beyond the amounts being submitted at this time, nonetheless the roll-out has begun and will need strong will and a level of accountability that may hitherto have been partly lacking in some other government initiatives. We applaud the beginnings and will endeavour to do our little part as a contribution in this long-term project. It seems as though there will be private healthcare functions which will be drawn upon as well as a general scaling up of the service levels presently provided and obtainable through the public facilities.

The way the processes will be funded is partly key to the general success and our feeling is that over a period of time spanning some years, it is likely not only to see everyone having a facility to go to, but also to have a reduced private healthcare community of members with a (perhaps )supplementary or gap structure and blending of facilities of both the private and public sectors.