IF ACCESS TO health care is a hot-button issue in Washington where the proposed repeal of Obamacare by Republicans is posing a threat to people’s lives, where do Barbadians stand on the controversial measure?
Top health experts whose family roots and interests are firmly planted in Barbados believe the Affordable Health Care Act or Obamacare, offers people in America their best chance of enjoying universal access to care, much like what Bajans at home have.
In the US, such access to care or to health insurance isn’t considered a basic right which the government must guarantee. It comes down to ability to pay for health services. Obamacare is removing that roadblock. Since its introduction seven years ago, more than 20 million Americans who were previously denied insurance and care because of “pre-existing conditions”– cancer, diabetes, hypertension or heart disease – have secured insurance. Children who were once removed from their parent’s health coverage on becoming adults can remain on it until they are 26 years old if they are in school. Prenatal is also guaranteed.
Sir George Alleyne, the Caribbean’s leading health expert who is also Chancellor of the University of the West Indies and was the first Caribbean administrator to lead the Pan American Health Organisation, said that in Barbados and the rest of the region, access to care was seen as a state responsibility.
“That is the basis of most of the thinking in the Caribbean, that it is the responsibility of the state to ensure that the measures are in place”
for such access, the Bajan said. “Most of the countries in the Caribbean have not yet achieved the ideal state of care but most of them are moving to perfect their care.”
As he explained it, the question of health insurance has arisen in The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and other places because people saw the need to ensure that their citizens have access to the necessary care and they see it as a state responsibility to ensure the mechanism for it wasn’t complicated.
In essence, added Sir George, people across the Caribbean believe the “state is obliged to provide” access to care. “Whether the individual takes advantage of it was another matter.”
Dr Errol Byer, a Barbadian specialist in obstetrics and gynecology for more than 40 years in New York City, opposes efforts by President Donald Trump and Congress to repeal Obamacare. He insists its benefits guarantee access to people who couldn’t afford it or get health insurance.
“Other than the basic coverage which Obamacare provides and will continue to provide for the estimated 25 million projected uninsured Americans, there are other benefits to all Americans,” said Byer who grew up in St George. “One is no lifetime cap on usage. One’s coverage can’t be terminated because of the amount of usage over time. Another is no denial of health insurance because of pre-existing conditions. You must also be able to remain on your parent’s coverage until the age of 26 if you are continuing your education. Fourth, more favourable rates (for medication) at the pharmacy for senior citizens. In the area of OBGY, prenatal care is an absolute necessity. Without such care, outcomes can be dire.”
That was why repeal of Obamacare was out of the question, Byer insisted.
“Repair Obamacare” where necessary “but don’t repeal it,” he added.
Dr O’Neall Parris, a prominent Long Island pediatrician with a Columbia University master’s degree in public health, said “it was unfortunate that the US was the only industrialised country without a national health care system covering all of its citizens. If we posit that health care is a human right, it follows that access to affordable health care is a must. And such access has not been available to millions of Americans until the Affordable Care Act of 2010.”
Parris, immediate past president of the Barbados Cancer Association USA and the current chairman of the Barbados Diaspora Collaborative USA, was quick to say that “while not perfect,” Obamacare extended health insurance coverage to over 20 million Americans who previously had no insurance.
“From a public health standpoint the benefits of ensuring adequate health care are compelling,” he added.
“Countries like Canada with single-payer systems spend less and have better health outcomes than the US,” insisted the Barbadian.
Tony Best is the NATION’s North American Correspondent. Email: Bestra@aol.com