More than a hundred seniors packed a church hall on Friday to discover the benefits of FutureCare.

Government representatives outlined how to sign up to the healthcare programme at a luncheon at St. James Church, Somerset.

Welcoming seniors, Junior Minister of Health Thaao Dill said: "It is fundamentally necessary to care for you. Thank you for everything you've done."

FutureCare is open to anyone over-65 who is enrolled in HIP (Health Insurance Plan). From April 1, those eligible were automatically transferred over to the scheme.

Any senior who turns 65 this year (January 1 December 31) is also eligible to apply for enrolment, as from April 1. Application forms are available from the Ground Floor of the Government Administration Building.

Also, anyone not enrolled in HIP but who receives Financial Assistance will be included.

For a monthly premium of $260, seniors can obtain large discounts on doctors and hospital visits, dentistry, psychiatric treatment, prescription drugs, Diagnostic Imaging Services and other health benefits. Help in chiropody, speech therapy, opthamology, prosthetics and medical equipment is also available.

Anyone needing a kidney transplant will also get a helping hand, with up to $70,000 worth of funding for the operation.

The monthly FutureCare premium is $60 more than HIP, but this includes more benefits.

Government subsidises 75 percent of FutureCare. Those who do not qualify for the subsidy pay a higher proportion of the premium.

In contrast to HIP which pays for four physician visits annually, FutureCare offers unlimited visits. It also brings funding for long-term nursing care into the home.

And whereas HIP paid up to $1,200 a year for prescription drugs, FutureCare offers $2,000. It also provides up to $250 a year in Vision Care benefit.

FutureCare is managed by the Health Insurance Department. It is funded by seniors plus a $10 million contribution by Government.

Colin Anderson of the Health Insurance Department explained some of the benefits to seniors yesterday. He said as Government had only allocated $10 million for the first year of the scheme, civil servants would be rolling it out on a 'trial and error' basis, to see what was feasible.

"Every country is struggling with rising healthcare costs so the affordability of healthcare is a very important topic to look at," he said. "For $260 a month, there are going to be huge benefits."

However he said there were just 3,100 seniors enrolled so far, "Because we've only been allocated $10 million".

"Because of the global recession we are seeing and this extraordinary thing Government has done to assist our seniors, Government has to walk the line with a balancing act," he said.

"FutureCare will be rolled out after Year One. We will increase it slowly.

"This is a huge initiative for Government and there's lots of things we need to sort out as we go through. As we develop the programmes, we will tell you all about it."

Mr. Anderson told The Royal Gazette: "We need to have one year of business to work out whether proposals will be financially viable. We want to have as much data as we can, so we're going to look at the figures each quarter."