FINANCING HEALTHCARE FOR BERMUDA’S SENIOR POPULATION
Bermuda faces a challenge in providing affordable, sufficient healthcare for the senior population, says the Shadow Minister of Health and Seniors.
Ms Louise Jackson, MBE, JP, MP, in
Hamilton. Ms Jackson is the Shadow Minister of Health and Seniors. She was formerly Shadow Minister of Cultural Affairs and Seniors.
The Government of Bermuda and the Opposition United Bermuda Party aim to provide senior citizens with healthcare that is affordable, accessible and effective. On the surface there is no reason to believe that Bermuda cannot deliver on this goal. This tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is wealthy by any standard. It stands atop the CIA country list of GDP per capita – far ahead of Canada and European Union countries which are often cited for their high standards of healthcare. But like most countries, Bermuda faces huge challenges in meeting the healthcare needs of its people, let alone that of its senior citizens. At the risk of using an
expression that is becoming trite, the island faces a perfect storm of
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rising costs, growing needs, over- stretched budgets and competing demands.
senior citizens. Not only is the population increasing in size, they are living longer than ever before thanks to technological and medical advances. There are more than 8,000 senior citizens in Bermuda today out of a population of approximately 67,000. It is calculated that by 2030, seniors will nearly double in number to 14,000.
Ms Louise Jackson, JP, MP
The perfect storm Like other developed countries, Bermuda has experienced an explosion in the number of its
How seniors get the health coverage they need and deserve is not just a question for the future, it is very much a question for the present.
Bermuda’s poverty line has been set at $35,000 a year. Senior citizens have a median income of $37,500 a year, suggesting that close to half of the island’s elderly population live in poverty. While half