The Bermuda Health Council has raised concerns about the viability of FutureCare, Government's health care programme for seniors.

Yesterday, the council released a consultation paper which would enhance the regulatory framework of private insurers.

It further stated it was necessary to expand coverage for individuals to protect public finances.

FutureCare provides comprehensive medical coverage to eligible seniors on the Island at a lower price than private companies. With Bermuda facing an ageing population, the council said there were "concerns about the long-term viability" of FutureCare.

According to the council, health care is Government's largest expenditure, encompassing hospitalisation subsidies and the administration costs of the various health plans.

As of May this year 2,772 seniors had enrolled in FutureCare and 1,428 seniors are retired civil servants covered under Government's health programme. This accounts for 51 percent of the Island's 8,313 seniors, based on the 2000 census.

That figure is expected to grow because Bermuda, like other developed countries, is facing an ageing population.

As baby boomers the generation born between 1946 and 1964 enter retirement age, residents over the age of 65 will outnumber those under the age of 18. Life expectancy has also risen from 65 to 79.3 since 1950 while the median age of the population is 40.

In the UK it has been dubbed the health care time bomb.

In Bermuda health insurance has been tied to employment since the Health Insurance Act was passed in 1970.

The system worked when the Island had full employment in the ensuing decades.

However, according to the report, Bermuda can no longer rely on this model due to the growing number of seniors and people on the poverty line.

This is because of the average cost of private health care in 2008 it was $7,730. That same year 11 percent of Bermuda's households, many of which included seniors, earned $36,000 or less and fell below the poverty line.

Yesterday's report from the council stated: "FutureCare provides essential health coverage for seniors at a time when capacity is constrained and private individual coverage for this population can be financially inaccessible.

"However, the forecasted increase in the senior population over the next decade raises concerns about the long-term viability of the plan.

"FutureCare is designed to cover seniors, the highest risk population, which leaves the healthier, younger, and lower-risk individuals out of its pool, presenting a high burden and risk for the plan, and thereby benefiting private plans."

In order to rectify this the council has proposed reforms to diversify the pool of people insured by private companies.

They proposed creating a basic private plan which will cost the same for everyone regardless of age or pre-existing medical conditions.

The report said this would "ensure all payers share an equal responsibility in financing health care for the population as it ages".

The report added that in the coming years Government would not necessarily be able to cover those unable to access private care, as it has via FutureCare and its basic Health Insurance Plan.

"Future budget constraints will impact the ability of the Government to further accommodate the growing population of individuals in Bermuda who cannot purchase affordable, individual policies through the private insurance market. Included in this population are retirees, self-employed persons, small business operators, underemployed young adults, and persons with pre-existing conditions," it stated.

"The ability of the Government to expand fiscal spending, including health expenditure, in future years could be constrained by economic conditions and a growing aversion to increased public sector borrowing, both by the public at large and by the global capital markets."