The Bermuda Health Council has proposed a raft of reforms to ensure health care is a human right, and not a privilege for those who can afford it.

Yesterday the council released a consultation paper on enhancing the regulatory framework for private health insurance companies.

Currently private companies finance 52 percent of the Island's health care system.

The average cost of health care was $7,730 in 2008, it is expected to double by 2017. This puts private care out of reach for many seniors on a fixed income and those living below the $36,000 poverty threshold.

The council said the aim of the reforms is to "protect the public, promote equality and promote cost efficiency".

The proposed reforms include ensuring all companies are solvent and enhancing the standard health benefit package of all insurers.

The council also proposed that companies be barred from denying standard health coverage to anyone, regardless of pre-existing conditions. [ A major theme of the report was Bermuda's elderly and the impact they have on the health care industry.

It also raised concerns about the viability of FutureCare Government's comprehensive health care insurance for seniors under the current framework. Unhealthy lifestyles are also adding to the health care burden. Sixty-four percent of the Island's population is overweight and 14 percent of the population lives with diabetes. Nearly half of Bermuda's deaths, 47 percent, are attributed to circulatory system disease.

These issues account for some of the reasons the cost of health care has dramatically risen this decade.

Currently 9.2 percent of the Island's gross domestic product is spent on the health care system. That means approximately $560 million is spent a year, based on the 2008 GDP.

This is expected to double in the next seven years. The council estimated $1.04 billion will be spent on the health system by 2017.

Previously Bermuda has operated under a system where health care was tied to employment. According to the report, this is no longer possible due the current economic climate and the ageing population.

"In Bermuda the self-employed, retired persons and the unemployed are most likely to be uninsured," it stated. "Extending the ability of individuals to purchase coverage through system-wide, community-rated plans will make health coverage more affordable to the most vulnerable populations.

"In addition, mandating that all individuals purchase coverage will increase the size of the risk pool and protect insurers against adverse selection."

It added that requiring the standard health coverage to cover a wide variety of the community ensures the economic burden is shared between young and the old, the healthy and the sick.

"Finally, the forecasted increase in health system utilisation, expenditure, and costs, driven by Bermuda's demographics make the assurance of a sound health insurance system both a social and economic imperative," it continued. "Bermuda must have a financially sound, fair, and cost efficient health insurance system if we are to meet the health care needs of the population over the next decade."