Gimme de ting wah the doctor order me!        

Jan 22, 2025 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Peeping Tom…

Kaieteur News- The government’s decision to go ahead with the universal healthcare voucher scheme is a brazen and indefensible act that deserves nothing less than scorn and outright rejection. Announced last October and now finding its way into the 2025 Budget, this program represents a barefaced transfer of G$5 billion to private healthcare providers under the guise of improving access to healthcare for children. It is a policy that reeks of misplaced priorities and betrays the very public healthcare system the government claims to be building and expanding.

In fact, not only does the government lay claim to improving diagnostic tests in public healthcare facilities. Therefore, how can the government which offers free health care, now turn around and provide a voucher which ostensibly can only be used at private institutions.

This is not the first time the administration has unveiled a measure cloaked in populist appeal but riddled with contradictions. Just last year, the government paraded its grand vision of modernized public healthcare—12 new hospitals, upgraded regional health centers, and expanded diagnostic capabilities. Yet, instead of bolstering these promises with the resources needed to make them a reality, the government has opted for a policy that undermines public healthcare while fattening the coffers of private providers.

The universal healthcare voucher program offers G$10,000 per person for diagnostic tests at private healthcare facilities. This may sound benevolent on the surface, but the reality is far more sinister. Public hospitals and clinics already provide these tests for free. Why, then, is the government funneling money into private facilities? The answer is clear: this is a calculated move to subsidize private healthcare providers under the pretense of helping the general population. The scheme will channel G$5 billion of taxpayers’ money into private hands—funds that could and should have been used to improve the public healthcare system.

This column had exposed and condemned this matter last October, soon after it was announced. Yet the government has the temerity to go ahead. And you know why? Because there were no other criticisms made of it’ the measure inexplicably just slid under the radar of public concerns.

Public hospitals in Guyana are in dire need of resources. Diagnostic equipment is outdated or nonexistent in many facilities, and shortages of essential medicines and trained staff are chronic issues. That additional G$5 billion injection into the public system could have done wonders by making-quality diagnostic services available to all citizens, not just those who can afford private care. Instead, this money will prop up private entities that already profit from the inadequacies of the public sector.

The contradictions in the government’s approach are glaring. If the public healthcare system is indeed on a path to modernization, why divert resources to private providers? Why not use this G$5 billion to equip public hospitals with state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, train more healthcare workers, and improve service delivery? The voucher program signals a lack of faith in the government’s own healthcare initiatives and raises serious questions about its commitment to public welfare.

A more rational policy would have been to enhance diagnostic capabilities within public hospitals and clinics, reserving private sector engagement for specialized cases. This would have ensured that taxpayer money is used efficiently and that public healthcare infrastructure is strengthened rather than undermined. Instead, the voucher scheme forces families into private facilities, effectively privatizing a critical aspect of healthcare delivery.

The irony is bitter. The government’s rhetoric about improving public healthcare is rendered hollow by its actions. If the administration truly believed in the potential of the public system, it would be investing every dollar into making public hospitals the first choice for all Guyanese. Instead, it has chosen a path that benefits private providers while leaving public hospitals to languish.

This policy is not just wrong; it is a betrayal. It betrays the public healthcare workers who toil under challenging conditions, the families who rely on public services, and the taxpayers who deserve to see their money used to build a stronger, fairer healthcare system. It is a betrayal of the government’s own promises and a stark indicator of misplaced priorities.

Citizens should be alarmed by this creeping privatization of healthcare. The voucher scheme sets a dangerous precedent: a shift of public resources into private hands, a weakening of public services, and a growing reliance on private entities to fulfill roles that should be the domain of the state. This is a trend that must be resisted.

The universal healthcare voucher scheme is not just bad policy; it is an affront to the principles of equity and justice. It is a decision that should outrage every Guyanese who believes in the importance of a strong, accessible public healthcare system.

Let us wait and see how Jagdeo will defend this one at his weekly press conference this Thursday! Or perhaps he will evade this uncomfortable reality.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this newspaper.)

(Gimme de ting wah the doctor order me!  )      

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• doctor, Peeping Tom, Promises, public healthcare, ree health care

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