Today the UDP held a 2 and a half hour press conference discussing a number of national issues. The Leader of the Opposition kicked it off with revelations about the National Health Insurance. She pointed out that in the NHI authority bill, it seeks to create a scheme in which you may have to pay contributions - just like you do for Social Security.
Panton criticized not just the bill but also what she refers to as a hustle, since she explained that many of the NHI contracts are going to private institutions.
Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition
"We're creating a parallel fund to SSB. This bill, so the same way legally you must pay your contributions to SSB, you will have to pay your contributions to the NHI fund. So you pay SSB and NHI. Government is selling free healthcare, we're using the Boledo proceeds, we took away the Boledo from Brad's but Belizeans get free healthcare. So they're saying it's free healthcare now but once this bill is enacted and signed into law."
"Belizeans will get the bill. This at a time when families are struggling with food, with fuel, with rent, with school fees."
"But the government must be honest. This is not national health insurance. This is what I call a national hustle insurance."
"It speaks to, if you look at the act, it speaks to contributions even from pensioners. So after you work your whole life, and you make contributions to SSB for your whole life, and you're home retired, and you're getting that $100, $200 SSB pension a month you know what you have to do with that when this bill is enacted? Make your contributions to NHI."
"Who are the providers? I will tell you my friends that 80% of the contracts that have been signed for the delivery of NHI are with private providers while our public healthcare system continues to be dismantled. They're not being resourced, they're not being equipped, the money is going into the hands of private providers while our public healthcare system and our public healthcare services are being diminished."
