News

TCI: Opinion Piece – NHIB Spending

Published

8 years ago

February 3, 2018

#TurksandCaicos, February 3, 2018 – Providenciales – Who is the Man? As a lawyer, I regularly read the Gazette when published on Fridays as it contains valuable information for my legal practice. Last week I read with great interest the changes in portfolios of Ministers specifically the Minister of Finance and Premier, and the Minister of Health, Human Services and Agriculture, which are to commence on February 1^st 2018.

Reader, I urge that you walk with me as we take a trip down memory lane. Some 13 months ago, the first Female Premier and Minister of Finance was sworn in, and during her speech she said “I’m the Man for the Job”. While we chuckled at that colorful expression coming from a woman, who should be proud to be “the woman for the job”, we understood where the Minister of Finance was coming from. Now some 3 months ago, the Minister of Health, beat his chest proudly in the House of Assembly and said “He is the Man, the Man for health. No one knows more about health than me. I am the Man”. Now, with serious eye-rolling that I find happening more and more often whilst I am sitting in the Chamber due to the various colorful exchanges and expressions coming from the Government side, I was intrigued by the Minister of Health’s extensive reminder that he is the Health Man! This proclamation of his manliness was in response to his Amendment to the NHIB Ordinance which he said was the first step in fixing what some deem a real drain on tax-payers dollars. The amendment largely related to the make-up of the NHIB Board.

So, imagine my confusion last week Friday when I reviewed the Gazette and noticed that the self-proclaimed Health Man, lost the biggest expenditure in Health from his portfolio, that being responsibility for the National Health Insurance Board. For the sake of completeness, the National Health Insurance Board is the oversight body for the Treatment Aboard Program in the Ministry of Health and Human Services. Our contributions to NHIB not only provide funding for treatment overseas but also payment to TCI Hospitals on our behalf along with our US$10.00 co-pay we’d pay when we utilize services at one of their locations.

So, my questions today is WHO IS THE MAN?; and why is it that the NHIB spending is well over the projected budget amount of US$23,274,067.00. When we were in the Budget Debate last year, I specially asked the Minister of Health on three occasions was the budget of US$23,000.00 enough for the work of NHIB in covering the Treatment of Aboard Program, and ancillary costs of the NHIB. At each stage he said yes with gusto, and assured us that new structures would be in place to ensure NHIB would operate within their budget.

So, my second question is simply this, Did the Health Man fail? Is that why the Minister of Finance has come to save the day, and replace the Health Man, with the Finance Woman-Man?

What makes me ponder these questions is the response to my parliamentary question which was submitted in September (answered this week in the HOA) to the Minister of Health as to what are the costs of the Treatment Aboard Program from July 1^st 2017 to October 31^st 2017. How is it that in just the period of July 1^st 2017 to October 31^st 2017 some 4 months the NHIB has spent US$8,659.170.00, which is US$7,131,783.00 in medical costs, US$1,000,000.00 in airfare, and US$238,000.00 in subsistence. At this rate the total expenditure for the 2017/2018 Financial Year would be US$21,395,349.00 in just overseas medical costs. During this period a total of 418 referrals were processed resulting in the following big ticket medical costs of: US$3.3M for 80 patients to the Bahamas, US$2.2M for 183 patients to Jamaica, US$300k for 2 patients to Canada, US$391K for 19 patients to Cayman and US$153k for 1 patient to Colombia.

To say I was flabbergasted is an understatement of the amount that was spent in 4 months by the NHIB, but nonetheless we press on. As the Minister of Health wrapped up his answer to my question, he mumbled something about primary health care being important. So my next question is what is the plan to curb this rapid unsustainable expenditure?

To make matters even more interesting, there is a Supplementary Budget for 2017/2018 that will be debated next week, and on review of this yesterday, I note that NHIB has requested additional funds in the sum of US$12,000,000.00 increase for this financial year which ends on March 30^th 2018. Um, that is just 8 weeks from now. US$12,000,000.00!!!! Taking the NHIB estimated budget for this Financial Year to the grand total of US$35,885.000.00!!!! Now, that is when I noticed my heart rate began to escalate in the HOA. Where are we going to have US$12,000,000.00 found from in the current revenue streams that we have, and further what is being cut from the Budget to make up this difference.

So in the end the forecasted outturn for this financial year 2017/2018 for NHIB expenses is US$35,885,000.00, and not US$23,000,000.00 that the Minister of Health assured the people of this Country was sufficient for their potential medical costs overseas. While, I am here, let us also remember the Budget was debated and passed in April. Further, the Minister of Health had ample time to prepare a practical budget, but further to that from April to October 2017, wasn’t the Minister of Health monitoring the rapid expenditure of the NHIB. Oh wait, will they blame the former Government for this rapid expenditure to date, or let me guess Hurricanes Irma and Maria? Remember this is the Minister of Health’s Budget, that was deemed by the Government as the People’s Budget.

My advice to the new Minister of NHIB is to be open and honest with those registered with NHIB, as this current trend is unsustainable with the 30,000 persons who are contributing to NHIB and some 39,000 users. Where is the extra money going to come from? We need to know and we need to know soon. Oh, and if you’re reading this and think I got the requested figures incorrect, it is in black and white in the documents that were laid on the table yesterday, and as a Millennial, I include the screenshot for your review.

I am deeply concerned about NHIB, as there is still no Chief Financial Officer recruited, and it is bleeding funding with what seems to be no oversight, and something drastic needs to occur to severe the infected limb (pun intended).

Release:

Hon. Akierra Mary Deanne Missick

Member for Leeward & Long Bay Hills

Health

What to Look for with Self-Checks at Home

Published

4 days ago

February 16, 2026

Deandrea Hamilton

February is National Self- Check Month and family medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic, OH, John Hanicak, MD, highlights why at home self-checks are extremely important when it comes to not just early cancer detection but identifying other illnesses too and offers tips on what to look out for.

“Sometimes I look at them as sort of like your check engine light on the car, just like there would be a red flashing light that tells you that there’s something wrong with a car and prompts you to bring that in and get serviced. Your body does the same thing. It gives you warning signs to look into that symptom a little bit further,” said Hanicak.

Dr. Hanicak said self-checks are going to be a little different for everyone.

However, in general, he recommends looking for anything that may seem abnormal, such as unexplained weight loss, blood in your urine, bumps and bruises that won’t heal, and changes in bowel habits.

For example, if you suddenly start going to the bathroom a lot more than you used to, that could be a sign of something more serious.

He also suggests doing regular skin checks and documenting any moles or spots that start to look different.

“Realize that you are your own person. There’s nobody else in the world exactly like you. You’ve got your own set of ideas, your own family history and your own genetics. Know what is normal for you, and when that changes, that’s the kind of thing that we would be interested in talking about,” said Dr. Hanicak.

Dr. Hanicak notes that self-checks are not meant to replace cancer screenings, as those are just as important to keep up with.

Press Release: Cleveland Clinic

Bahamas News

Groundbreaking for Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre

Published

4 days ago

February 16, 2026

Deandrea Hamilton

PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development

GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.

Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar — it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.

He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.

The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.

The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.

The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.

Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.

Bahamas News

Tens of Millions Announced – Where is the Development?

Published

5 days ago

February 15, 2026

Deandrea Hamilton

The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.

The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.

The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.

Bahamians have seen this moment before.

In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.

Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.

It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.

The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau, Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.

This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.

Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.

And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.

It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.

Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.

News1 week ago

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