Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson has criticised Government again over its scaled-down FutureCare health insurance plan, which she claimed yesterday had disenfranchised thousands of seniors.

She hit out at Health Minister Nelson Bascome's statement last week that heavy demand for the low-cost scheme — which will be unavailable to the majority of pensioners in its first year — proved that Government had got it right.

Meanwhile, the PLP has insisted on its website that the decision to limit the number of seniors benefiting from FutureCare in its first year has been "explained on multiple occasions".

A post on the plp.bm blog says the fact that the affordable health insurance programme will be phased in and limited to 3,100 pensioners in its first year is "nothing new" and shows that Government is being fiscally responsible and helping the neediest first. The party promised before the 2007 election that the programme would be for all seniors but has since said it cannot afford to fulfil that pledge in 2009 due to the economic downturn.

Mrs. Jackson said: "We deplore the fact that Government is congratulating itself for creating a seniors' health care system that has disenfranchised untold numbers of seniors.

"The Minister's statement... is deeply self-serving. It also offends those who were led astray by the Government's election campaign promise of affordable health care for seniors — a promise that was made to win votes without any plan in place."

The Opposition MP claimed seniors who missed out on the scheme this year because they didn't know they had to already be enrolled in the state Health Insurance Plan (HIP) felt alienated by Mr. Bascome's "self-congratulatory words".

"The Government has been unfair and misleading in the rollout of FutureCare — due principally to the fact that it has moved its own economic concerns ahead of its election promise to Bermuda's seniors," Mrs. Jackson said.

"FutureCare is a classic example of politics trumping good planning. Caught in the gap are many cash-strapped seniors who were banking on FutureCare to provide them with the insurance they need.

"We are particularly critical of the Government for generating false hope with its promise of affordable and expanded health care for seniors and then not planning for the demand such a promise would obviously generate."

The PLP blog post says: "We're being fiscally responsible and providing FutureCare to those who need it most first. This is the responsible way to roll out such an ambitious programme. "The UBP and their friends in the media have, time and again, overlooked this simple fact that we've explained on multiple occasions.

"Perhaps the media should start paying more attention to the details of our programmes and how they help people instead of taking their cues from the UBP's misleading political attack, and, in turn, misleading the people of Bermuda."

Health permanent secretary Warren Jones told this newspaper earlier this month that Government deliberately didn't tell seniors they had to be in the state Health Insurance Plan (HIP) in order to qualify for FutureCare in order to keep the numbers down.

He said the HIP office was "inundated" with calls from seniors after an announcement by Mr. Bascome in the House of Assembly on March 11 and the heavy demand led to HIP being closed to new applications from seniors.

Only about 3,100 seniors will benefit from FutureCare until at least April next year — but anyone who turns 65 in 2009 or qualifies for state financial assistance can still join.

FutureCare timeline:

• December 9, 2007 — Premier Dr. 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 — 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".

• April 1, 2009 — HIP for seniors 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 the Minister's March 11 announcement and an influx of calls from pensioners wanting to sign up.

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 tells us that the requirement that seniors be in HIP in order to qualify for FutureCare "was not communicated to the public". He adds: "Nor was it our intent to do so."