Age Concern director Claudette Fleming has called for Government to provide the public with a clear and detailed outline about how its health care programme for seniors will be rolled out in the coming years.

The Royal Gazette takes a look at how FutureCare has evolved thus far.

• December 9, 2007 — Premier Ewart Brown says during a PLP pre-election press conference that FutureCare will "make the dreaded prospect of health care insecurity a thing of the past for our senior citizens".

• February 15, 2008 — The late Health Minister Nelson Bascome says: "FutureCare will be a health plan for all citizens of Bermuda aged 65 and over and will ensure access to effective, safe, coordinated, and patient-centred health care."

• February 20, 2009 — Mr. Bascome says during a Budget day press conference that the first phase of FutureCare will launch on April 1 for elderly people already enrolled in the basic state Health Insurance Plan (HIP) before January 1, 2009.

• March 11, 2009 — The Minister describes the launch of FutureCare as a "historic landmark for this Country" and says in its first year it will be restricted to those 65 and over presently in HIP, anyone turning 65 after January 1, 2009 and persons 65 and over deemed to be "indigent". This amounts to approximately 30 percent of the elderly population.

• March 23, 2009 — Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson said Government had "under-promoted" the deadlines for people signing up to FutureCare and claimed a lack of advertising meant many seniors had missed applying and were now out in the cold.

March 25, 2009 — Minister Bascome replied: "Let me be clear, there is not now, nor has there ever been, an application process or deadline for persons to sign up for FutureCare." He said no one who was a member of HIP had been required to fill out FutureCare applications.

• April 1, 2009 — HIP is replaced by FutureCare.

• April 2, 2009 — Health permanent secretary Warren Jones tells The Royal Gazette that seniors could still join HIP and qualify for FutureCare after January 1, 2009. He says the programme was only closed to newcomers after an influx of calls from pensioners wanting to sign up following the Minister's March 11 announcement. Asked if the Island's seniors were informed before the March 11 speech that HIP would become closed to them from a certain date, he replies: "No, they were not informed as phase one of the programme was being designed for persons presently on HIP." He admits that the requirement that seniors be in HIP in order to qualify for FutureCare "was not communicated to the public", and adds: "Nor was it our intent to do so."

• June 18, 2009 — Opposition Senator Michael Dunkley suggests $10 million spent on 'dolphin mitigation' could have been better spent on social programmes such as FutureCare.

• September 10, 2009 — Government flags up that private insurers who had provided a HIP equivalent, low-cost health package had ceased doing so. Newly appointed Health Minister Walter Roban said: "We have taken steps to fill this gap. Our Government programmes are established through legislation and therefore, the solutions will also have to be legislated."

• September 15, 2009 — A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said: "When the Government initiated FutureCare there were private sector options. They no longer exist. The Government is presently reviewing a proposal to address this issue."

• September 23, 2009 — Government announces it is reintroducing HIP for people over 65 as a result of private health insurers taking an equivalent low-cost plan from their books. People over 65 who do not qualify for the first phase of FutureCare, and are unable to afford the private options, should be able to enrol in HIP by late November. Mr. Jones added that they were looking at implementing a two-tiered system where those that could pay more would. He added that it was just one of the options Government was looking at.

April 2010 — The second phase is to be implemented. It is not known who will be eligible or how many people will be admitted.