Urgent care clinics, more exercise for children and food labelling are all important topics for newly reappointed Health Minister, Nelson Bascome.

He is concerned that the Bermuda's obesity rates are far too high and that the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is not operating at its best.

But topping his agenda is the Future Care initiative highlighted in the Progressive Labour Party's election platform, which he admits is still in a premature stage.

The basis of this senior health care programme is to be able to provide services for the senior retirees at the same level they were receiving while employed as well as free dental care.

Right now, when a person reaches retirement, they have few options if they cannot afford the insurance programme they had when they were employed.

One basic option is the Government's Health Insurance Plan, HIP, which provides four visits to the doctors a year, $1,200 in prescription benefits and costs $173.84 a month for seniors.

That means seniors struggle to find the cash they need for extra services and often have to turn to financial services for help. It is this struggle that Mr. Bascome hopes to see come to an end as he and his employees work hard to carry-out the Future Care promise.

He said: "Having just come out of an election there was a platform that mandates one of the key planks is Future Care. It will do more of providing services for persons over 65.

"HIP is one part of the hospital insurance plan that seniors can sign up for, but Future Care will allow them to have full coverage again.

"The Premier asked for it to be aggressive and he wants it as soon as possible."

Mr. Bascome said he believes the Government currently spends $50 and $70 million each year to extend HIP for seniors.

Another couple of million are paid to help seniors who must be flown off the Island for care, which is not covered under HIP.

However, the Minister and Permanent Secretary, Warren Jones, stressed they did not have any idea what the cost would be or how the cost of Future Care would be covered until actuarial studies into the topic were completed.

Neither would give a date for the completion of these studies, but were clear it was their top priority and the Premier wanted action.

When the Premier unveiled the plan in December he also would not put a cost on the initiative, but had said it would be funded through contributions from employers and employed adults, aged 20 to 64.

Asked to clarify yesterday, Mr. Jones said the Ministry was working out the details and funding would be announced in the future.

The initiative, however, has drawn international interest with one of the world's leading debt rating agencies, Standard & Poor's, which warned these election promises could worsen Government's fiscal deficit, which is already double the previously assumed for the 2007/2008 financial year.

Yesterday, Age Concern Executive Director Claudette Fleming said she welcomed the update and hoped to see further information in the near future.

She said: "We would applaud any effort to plug up the gap. We need to get the facts straight so we need to take our time to get our facts right, but just not too much time.

"Every industrial country in the world is facing this issue and here we have the potential for progress but it depend on if we can do it right."