The UBP accused the Premier of lack of substance and of electioneering yesterday, after he unveiled two measures to alleviate financial pressures on the elderly.

Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson said that plans to give seniors better healthcare plus an exemption from the annual driving licence fee was an attempt to “dupe” voters ahead of a general election.

She said the renewal fee saving amounted to just $4.60 a year and that Dr. Brown’s healthcare plans lacked “flesh on the bone”.

Mrs. Jackson was speaking at a press conference in response to an announcement made by the Premier on Monday. Addressing the Bermuda Senior Islanders group, the Premier said he was drawing up a scheme with Acting Health Minister Phil Perinchief to provide better healthcare for those over-65.

Instead of seniors having to buy coverage above the basic level of the Government’s Hospital Insurance Plan (HIP), Dr. Brown said it would instead provide more comprehensive coverage. The scheme would work by asking the 20-64-year-old workforce to pay a nominal surcharge and their contributions would then accumulate towards retirement.

Dr. Brown said that as from 2008, Bermudians over-65 will also no longer have to pay the annual TCD driver’s licence renewal fee.

However, Mrs. Jackson dismissed this as “the worst kind of electioneering”.

“We are being set up to be duped and hoodwinked again by the Brown regime,” she said.

“You know, Mr. Premier, we seniors are old but we’re not dumb. To tell old folks on the eve of an election that seniors who drive cars will get a $4.60-a-year exemption and seniors who don’t drive will get nothing. What a con. It’s not just not enough, it’s nothing.

“The Brown regime is saving well-off seniors who drive, $4.60 a year, while making the people who use the Medical Clinic pay $5 for an office visit to a doctor, if they can find one to take them.

“This is political trickery on the eve of an election to win votes. The Government’s interest is in votes, not people.”

Addressing Dr. Brown’s healthcare scheme, Mrs. Jackson said: “Most of us who are seniors will probably not see this idea come true. It is only another bone thrown at seniors to get a vote.

“This is not a concrete plan. It’s an idea thrown out on the eve of an election, and so the question must be asked, given this Government’s record on follow-through, whether we will actually see any result.

“This is too complex an issue for a hasty, last-minute driven proposal. Seniors deserve more respect.

“We have been waiting almost nine years for the PLP to properly address the healthcare needs of seniors.

“We question whether the Premier has done his due diligence on the issue — or is it going to be like his cart-before-the-horse decision on the medical clinic.”

Mrs. Jackson said: “The idea may have merit, but the reality is that the Premier in his prepared announcement offered virtually no details — no flesh on the bone — by which we could take comfort that they actually know what they are doing or what they have in mind.

“We all understand that healthcare coverage needs to be dramatically improved, and made accessible and more affordable. I can promise you that the United Bermuda Party will move properly to deal with this healthcare issue when we are elected.”

It is understood the Premier is to announce further steps in his initiative at the annual Seniors Tea this Sunday at the Botanical Gardens. The Seniors Tea, from 3p.m., serves as the official launch of Seniors Week.

A spokesman for Dr. Brown said: “The Premier and Health Minster will release more information on this bold new healthcare policy as it is further explored.”