Affordable healthcare, the emerging plight of the Island's seniors, was brought to the forefront in a fiery debate between Government and the Opposition amid allegations of dubious doctors' practices.

The issue last night was provoked by the Opposition's spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Louise Jackson, in the House, as MPs debated the Health Insurance (Standard Hospital Benefit) Amendment Regulations Act 2008.

Things became serious when Mrs. Jackson alleged some people under Government's HIP insurance scheme are being made to pay for doctors' office visits up front – before their doctor will even see them.

"I speak from the knowledge I have by going to doctors and I have friends, Mr. Speaker," Mrs. Jackson charged after being asked to clarify her statement by Premier Ewart Brown on a point of order.

"But I'm not going to stand up here and recite the doctors that I have had to pay up front for – I don't think I need to do that.

"But I want you to know that it's true that you do have to pay up front for those with some doctors, that is the truth, I'm not misleading anybody, that is a fact!"

That caused Dr. Brown to question out loud from his seat across the isle: "Up front, meaning before you get served?"

"Yes, before you get served," Mrs. Jackson replied.

"Then that person needs to change their doctor," Dr. Brown half-joked, to laughter from other MPs.

The Premier's shocked reaction to the claims caused Mrs. Jackson to continue: "You know what Mr. Speaker... he (Dr. Brown) said you need to change your doctor!

"One of the doctors, who I'm not going to name, he is in a specialty where he is the only one in Bermuda, so there's no changing a doctor, if you need that doctor and need what he does... I think you might know who I'm talking about.

"But you do pay – don't tell me that you don't have to," she said as PLP MPs conspicuously doubted her claims, "you pay as soon as you walk in there before you sit down to see that doctor."

Minister of Health Nelson Bascome then interrupted Mrs. Jackson: "The Honourable member may be right and I think if she was specifically right it would be different.

"Because we've now challenged a number of those doctors that are charging up front (for HIP). Because remember at one time the HIP insurance payments to doctors were way behind.

"But now we've brought a number of those payments right up to being one month out and so what's happened is, a number of them (doctors) aren't doing that anymore (charging up front for HIP).

"And I would really like to know those that are, because I've challenged the Health Council to jump on those physicians and those persons practicing that when indeed (HIP has) now caught up."

Mr. Bascome challenged Mrs. Jackson that if she knew of any physician continuing to charge up front for HIP patients, to "please, let me have it so I can have them regulated."

Mrs. Jackson then promised to hand over a list of offending doctors by the end of the House session.

Furthermore, she gave a detailed description of what she meant to the chamber. She described: "When you walk into this particular office, you go to the receptionist, give your name and they tell you 'this is going to cost x amount of dollars.'"

Continuing her speech on seniors that have fallen between the cracks, Mrs. Jackson made reference to a newly released documentary produced by Age Concern and The Family Centre in connection with the Bermuda Broadcasting Company, on seniors.

In it, Mrs. Jackson alleged, a senior who had been diagnosed with a heart problem was told by her cardiologist, "'what do you expect? You're 82 – there's no need for treatment or an operation.'"

"Now, her family persisted, Mr. Speaker, and could not get a referral from the cardiologist and went abroad, found out that she could get treatment and an operation.

"And when she asked to be reimbursed by her insurance she was told no because she had to have a referral.

"So the family mortgaged their house for $200,000, which was the cost of the operation.

"She had the operation and she's still alive today... she approached the LCCA and was told she could not be helped because she was applying from the US and had to be applying from Bermuda – this is all from the film.

"How can we protect seniors and others from this kind of thing? That, I think, is perhaps one of the worst stories that I've heard."