AT THE MERCY OF THE MARKET!

Nov 15, 2015 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

There is a new phase in neo-liberal capitalism. This new phase involves the penetration by market forces of public services, especially health care services.
Health care, long considered in many countries as a public service, is now being subjected to market competition. This will present serious challenges for poor people.
These services, which in many countries are usually provided free of cost by the State, have now become the object of attention of private investors. In particular, specialized health care is now being targeted by private health care providers who charge exorbitant fees for certain types of health care services, many of which were not being provided by the public health care system because of considerations of cost and technical expertise
Guyana is no stranger to these developments. Certain types of cardiac interventions were introduced into Guyana by the Caribbean Heart Institute. These services are not cheap, and therefore there is nothing near universal access to such specialized services. Yet somehow, some Guyanese find the money to undertake the life-saving interventions.
This development was not lost on the PPP government, which saw an opportunity for financial gain for private health care providers. Thus was born the idea of a Specialty Hospital, an attempt to create space for the private sector in providing high-cost public services.
APNU and the AFC had opposed at various times the Specialty Hospital. The AFC was opposed not on philosophical grounds. They had concerns as to the award of the contract for the building of the hospital. They felt it should have gone to someone else. In 2014, APNU and the AFC combined to block budgetary funding for the Specialty Hospital. By this time, however, problems had developed under the PPPC government with the contractor and the project was left hanging in limbo.
At the time of the blocking of funding for the hospital, APNU had contended that it was more interested in promoting primary health care. This position may have been based on the assumption that primary health care was in a crisis.
The new APNU+AFC government has since changed its mind – as all governments are entitled to – about the Specialty Hospital. It is now going ahead with plans to establish this hospital, without saying how it is that ordinary citizens will benefit from such a facility.
At present, ordinary citizens cannot afford the cost of certain types of medical interventions usually undertaken at such hospitals. Specialty hospitals are therefore primarily built for the rich. The PPP itself spoke about medical tourism, meaning those from outside of Guyana who can afford to pay can come here and undergo medical procedures at a cheaper cost than what obtains overseas. Thus, this is a commercial enterprise and should have been undertaken at no cost to taxpayers.
It is still not too late for government to clarify its approach to the delivery of health services in Guyana. Right now if you are poor, you have only one option, to go to public health institutions. If the public health institution does not offer the type of medical intervention you need, then you have to do without it, because these same interventions do not come cheaply at private institutions.
This is the direction in which commercialization of health services is taking the country. Advanced health care is now a zone strictly for the rich and those who can afford it. Those who cannot must wait to die.
Guyana must move towards a different model of health care provision. It must aim at ensuing that all citizens have access to all levels of health care, but that only Guyanese citizens should be able to access such facilities. If I want a heart transplant, I should have the option of choosing to do it privately or through a public institution. The fact that the State does not offer advanced health care services denies the poor people such services.
By deciding to move ahead with the construction of the Specialty Hospital, the new government is leaving the poor people of Guyana, who require specialized and advanced medical care, to the mercy of market forces. This is not change!

Latest News

AT THE MERCY OF THE MARKET!

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | February, 3rd, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

EBDCA/D&R Construction 40-Over Cricket Competition continues

GFF announces final squad for Concacaf U-17...

Cricket West Indies announces exciting 2025...

BCA, GCB to attend CWI meeting on February 9

Bolstered Harpy Eagles eyeing perfect home record...

Hockey PAHF Junior Challenge schedule released

Features/Columnists

Land, taxes and penalties

OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus

Helping a brother traveling against traffic

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

AT THE MERCY OF THE MARKET!

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | February, 3rd, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]