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Cabinet expected to retain review panel for public sector health scheme contract
Monday, 22 October 2007
Cabinet will Monday sign off on a decision to retain the committee established by the previous Government to bring closure to the dispute over the public sector health insurance scheme.
But both Life of Jamaica (LOJ) and Blue Cross of Jamaica will have to wait longer to find out which of them will get the lucrative multi-million dollar contract.
Friday's top-level meeting comprised Prime Minister Bruce Golding; Minister Without Portfolio in the Finance Ministry, Dwight Nelson; Contractor General Gregg Christie; Chairperson of the National Contracts Commission, Shirley Tyndall and Deputy Financial Secretary, Robert Martin.
The meeting gave the green light to the committee, established under the previous administration, to continue to review the bids tendered by the two insurance giants.
Senator Nelson who now Chairs the committee says the Government is not satisfied that public employees who foot 20 per cent of the massive health bill had been kept informed of the tender process.
The Jamaica Civil Service Association raised concern after news broke that LOJ had been awarded the contract.
The Portia Simpson Miller administration established a committee to resolve the dispute.
But the Contractor General stood his ground.
He contended that assessment of the tender evaluation process for the procurement of the Government Employees Administrative Services Only (GEASO) Health Insurance Scheme Contract was transparent and fair.
Only minutes before Friday's meeting, Mr. Christie revealed that he had turned over an 81-page document to prove that LOJ had duly earned the right to the contract.
The document which is to be tabled in Parliament, notes that the recommendation was made by the former Ministry of Finance and Planning and endorsed by the National Contracts Commission, the NCC.
Monday, 22 October 2007
Cabinet will Monday sign off on a decision to retain the committee established by the previous Government to bring closure to the dispute over the public sector health insurance scheme.
But both Life of Jamaica (LOJ) and Blue Cross of Jamaica will have to wait longer to find out which of them will get the lucrative multi-million dollar contract.
Friday's top-level meeting comprised Prime Minister Bruce Golding; Minister Without Portfolio in the Finance Ministry, Dwight Nelson; Contractor General Gregg Christie; Chairperson of the National Contracts Commission, Shirley Tyndall and Deputy Financial Secretary, Robert Martin.
The meeting gave the green light to the committee, established under the previous administration, to continue to review the bids tendered by the two insurance giants.
Senator Nelson who now Chairs the committee says the Government is not satisfied that public employees who foot 20 per cent of the massive health bill had been kept informed of the tender process.
The Jamaica Civil Service Association raised concern after news broke that LOJ had been awarded the contract.
The Portia Simpson Miller administration established a committee to resolve the dispute.
But the Contractor General stood his ground.
He contended that assessment of the tender evaluation process for the procurement of the Government Employees Administrative Services Only (GEASO) Health Insurance Scheme Contract was transparent and fair.
Only minutes before Friday's meeting, Mr. Christie revealed that he had turned over an 81-page document to prove that LOJ had duly earned the right to the contract.
The document which is to be tabled in Parliament, notes that the recommendation was made by the former Ministry of Finance and Planning and endorsed by the National Contracts Commission, the NCC.