The Archbishop Makes A Case For NHI

viagra canada ask times;”>Archbishop Drexel Gomez who is a leading intellectual personality in the country in his own right has weighed in on the National Health Insurance debate. It is no surprise having been a the former lead Anglican prelate in the country and in the province and an advocate for social justice that his voice is now heard.  Speaking from the pulpit at St Agnes Church in Grants Town, he roundly defended the decision of the government on National Health Insurance. His brother Dr. Perry Gomez, the Minister of Health, is charged with bringing it into being.  His son Damien is  a Cabinet minister and will have to help to defend the policy.  The Bishop said that he supported a 1.5 per cent tax to pay for it.  Tax is a bad word these days and it  would better if National Health Insurance was explained not as being paid for by a tax but an insurance requires a fee.  It is a fee for service returned.  The selling job has to eliminate the word tax for the nomenclature.  However, we get the point that he makes.  A more fundamental point  however  is that he argued that those who now in the public service get private health insurance paid for by the general taxes of the country are in fact a minority receiving benefit paid for by taxes now.  He says that it is surely more equitable for everyone to pay for the burden of the universal national health insurance.  That is a compelling argument about equity.  Meantime, the enemies of National Health Insurance including the private insurers are attacking it from all directions.  The latest is an audio file being circulated with the support of the Police Staff Association that when National Health Insurance comes into being they will lose their coverage, and get less favourable coverage in return.  Again all politics is local.  It is not true what is being shopped around but the PLP needs to act fast to counteract all the negatives on this.