The spectre of skyrocketing healthcare costs continue to loom over Bermudians as 2004 passes away, with many worried stakeholders sounding the alarm in hopes of preventing a crisis.

With work beginning this year on the Bermuda Health Council, however, hopes were high that the body would function as the ringleader in the circus, uniting the industry and reducing the clash of competing interests.

?The Health Council could take over the watchdog role,? outgoing BF&M president and CEO Glenn Titterton said in October. ?We have to do a gradual pullback from the rather extreme situation of the moment.?

Fears about increasing costs ushered 2004 in with a bang as insurers pushed for an increase in hospital premiums to offset the increasing cost of claims.

As seniors were forced to leave the Island because they could not afford to live here, and Government funds became crucial to the National Drug Commission (NDC) after the fundraising body the Council Partner Charitable Trust (CPCT) shut down, there were some rays of hope: Fair Havens announced it would re-open in the spring and the Women?s Resource Centre received international accreditation.

In March, the Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust was formed as the fundraising arm of the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB). A review of the Island?s healthcare system could lead to a new hospital within 15 years.

More good news followed with the hospitals heading for a $3 million surplus, a major comeback from a $3.5 million deficit from the previous year. The bad news came hard on its heels, however, with Government increasing premiums by some 11 percent ? more than three times the rate of inflation, but still half of what actuaries recommended the premiums be increased by.

Also in July the problems at Hope Homes, the residential facility for the mentally disabled, were thrown into the spotlight once again. Government funding for Hope Homes was eventually cut off by Health Minister Patrice Minors, who noted the facility has failed to account for some $1.2 million from Government over the past three years. Hope Homes vowed to stay open despite the setback, seeking help from the private sector.

After allegations of certain individuals setting up medical services in direct competition with the hospital in September, Government announced in October that it is seeking public input at a health summit planned for March, 2005: ?Expanding the Collaborative Borders of Healthcare in Bermuda?.

Government announced the NDC will be scrapped and absorbed into the Health Ministry. Mrs. Minors said the move would cut down on waste and increase efficiency.

The chairman of the body, the Rev. Andrew Doughty and two other board members resigned in protest, saying they had not been consulted and that it was a poor decision.