Health plan to start on April 1

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A planned year-long “implementation phase” of the National Health Plan will begin on April 1.

The move was one of several Throne Speech initiatives expanded on by Health Minister Zane DeSilva yesterday.

He said that two of six task forces appointed a year ago to put a National Health Plan in place by 2014 had finished their work.

Health promotion and benefits design are complete, with the actuarial report on benefits to go before Cabinet next week.

“In the near future we’ll go to the public for further consultation that will lead into the implementation phase of the NHP, starting April 1 of next year and finishing on March 31, 2014,” Mr DeSilva added.

Following up on the Throne Speech pledges for healthcare initiatives, Mr DeSilva extolled the FutureCare senior insurance scheme, where the benefits package will be modified to give 100 percent coverage for generic prescription drugs.

The decision on whether or not increased benefits will cause premiums to rise lies with Cabinet, he said.

The Island is now top in OECD countries for amputations as a result of Type Two diabetes.

Mr DeSilva also made frequent reference to the need for a change in lifestyle.

“Some people in Bermuda say we have a healthcare crisis,” he said. “I think we have a lifestyle crisis.”

He continued: “In Bermuda, we currently have about 13 percent of the population with Type Two diabetes, which is more than 8,000 people. We have to try to bring that under control. That’s why healthcare costs are so high — and it’s preventable.”

The Minister gave an overview of progress at King Edward VII Memorial, where he toured the “state-of-the-art hospital” under construction.

“It’s on time, on budget and looking very good,” he said. “It’s continuing to hire approximately 62 percent Bermudians. The total workforce of about 200 will max out in the next couple of months at about 300 on site, and 1,000 to 1,200 Bermudians have benefited during construction.”

Mr DeSilva said he and Permanent Secretary Kevin Monkman attended a conference last week on medical tourism which might prove feasible for the Island.

He did not elaborate.

Useful website: www.bermudahospitals.bm.

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