Before legislators passed government’s 2016 budget last week in the House of Assembly, Health and Social Development Minister Ronnie Skelton provided an update on how the National Health Insurance system has been working since coming on stream Jan. 1.
According to Mr. Skelton, some $43 million has been injected into the territory’s public health care sector this year.
A portion of those funds will go directly to Peebles Hospital, he said, with the rest of the money going towards NHI’s initial capital injection.
Ultimately, however, the hospital will be funded entirely by fees for services rendered, the minister said without providing a timeline.
Echoing remarks made by his colleagues in HOA the week before, Mr. Skelton also complained that private health care providers have been raising their fees since NHI’s implementation.
“As soon as the government instituted NHI, some of the private providers increased their fees,” he said. “What’s that all about?”
See the April 7, 2016 edition for full coverage.
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