Uninsured, needy senior citizens are the most vulnerable and difficult-to-reach group in our society. They will not be able to afford HIP or Future Care or find a doctor that will take them into their practice. Therefore, it is incumbent upon government to do what it can to ensure they have access to decent
healthcare. If we can get to them we will be on our way to providing a system that is affordable, accessible and effective.
Beyond the challenge of establishing programmes and coverage that ensures our elderly get the healthcare they need, the government will be challenged to build, modernize and maintain the infrastructure to deliver many of these services.
unveiled in December 2007 in the midst of the 2007 general election campaign. When the Premier, Hon. Dr Ewart Brown, unveiled the plan, he said it would be funded through the contributions from employees and employed adults age 20 to 64.
The financial demands of
Future Care will be significant. The opposition UBP estimated in the days after it was introduced during the election campaign that the plan would cost a minimum of $65 million. Standard & Poor’s, one of the
world’s leading debt rating agencies, warned that the government’s election promises could worsen government’s fiscal deficit which is already double the deficit for the 2007/08 financial year. As the world sinks deeper into recession, how this will affect the financing of healthcare in Bermuda for the elderly is uncertain.
Every developed country in the world is facing this crisis of healthcare for the aged, children,
Uninsured, needy senior citizens are the most vulnerable...if we can get to them we will be on our way to providing a system that is affordable, accessible and effective.
the homeless and the vulnerable. To help move forward, the government should consider the following:-
• Free clinics for uninsured, needy senior citizens. Many are unable to navigate the avenues of help, as in finding a GP to look after them or even how to access their GP.
• Providing them with free eyeglasses, hearing aids and dental care.
38 | The Parliamentarian | 2009: Issue One - Bermuda
building is an aged structure in dire need of rebuilding and refurbishment. It is also crowded and often unable to accommodate patients in a timely fashion. An Urgent Care Centre – operating as a satellite of the hospital – is currently under construction and may play a part in reducing the demands placed on the hospital’s emergency ward. Plans are afoot to begin replacing the King Edward hospital in five years. The government is still trying to get a grip on the costs of replacement but figures already put forward suggest that the project should run from $350 million to $500 million, barring undue overruns. The second project – new residential and nursing care
Developing the infrastructure The first is the replacement of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Bermuda’s only acute care centre. The current
Above: Two members of Bermuda’s seniors population.