The Shadow Minister of Health has called for answers on two of Bermuda’s healthcare providers whose finances have not been fully available for five years.

Robin Tucker, of the One Bermuda Alliance, demanded transparency around the Government’s block grants as the funding model neared $1 billion in expenditure since it was started.

Ms Tucker said that the Bermuda Hospitals Board had not made its audited financial statements publicly available since 2020.

She added that the Bermuda Health Council had not fully released its National Health Accounts Report, which gives a framework for tracking Bermuda’s health finances, for the same period.

“Where is the transparency?” she asked.

"Six years ago, the Progressive Labour Party government implemented block grant funding for the hospital.

“Looking at the Government’s budget books, the actual amounts spent to support the hospital for the years between 2019-20 and 2024-25 total approximately $795 million.

“For 2025-26, $177 million has been budgeted, so if the hospital spends at least that amount this financial year, it will have spent almost $1 billion from the public purse since the funding model was changed.”

“Unfortunately, owing to the timing of reporting periods, it is unlikely that the public will know the full amount it paid until the 2027-28 budget cycle.”

The Royal Gazette found that actual government grants to the BHB from 2019-20 to 2023-24 totalled about $793 million, with another $155.5 million estimated for 2024-25, taking the total to $948.5 million.

Ms Tucker said that the health council’s website had listed its 2020 accounts report as “in progress” for “a few years” before being changed.

She added that after her party requested updates in the Senate, it was announced that the National Health Report for 2019-20 would be finished by the end of 2021, while the 2020-21 report was finalised in 2023.

The Senate was told that the delay in its release came from final reviews and approvals that would be released soon.

Ms Tucker said: “The latest update on the health council’s website now shows that reports for the financial years ending 2019 to 2023 are in progress and that progress is 95 per cent complete.

“This raises other key questions — if the 2019-20 and 2020-21 reports are complete, what is preventing them from being released?”

She added: “Without receiving timely reports, how reliable are the financial decisions being made for important health initiatives, such as the recently announced roll-out of universal healthcare planned for 2026?

“As the hospital’s actual spending under the block grant funding model creeps closer to a billion dollars, we should be demanding greater evidence that the block grant funding model is working and achieving its original objectives. Is it improving health system costs?

“Having current audited financial statements and National Health Accounts on a timely basis is a start to assuring transparency and accountability for how our tax dollars are being used to support healthcare, since this is what we all want, don’t we?”

Ricky Brathwaite, the chief executive of the BHeC, confirmed that the organisation released its National Health Accounts from 2019 to 2023 last month.

Dr Brathwaite said that although the data stood at 95 per cent completeness, any remaining pieces of data were unlikely to change anything important.

He said that the figures otherwise represented “the most accurate and complete picture” of the finances of the Bermuda’s health system across public and private sources.

Dr Brathwaite added: “The data was published in this form to support transparency and timely engagement on important topics like health system sustainability and universal healthcare planning.

“That said, we reserve the right to update the figures as new information becomes available.

“We also will look to expand upon the data based on specific circumstances or policy questions that may come up.

“For example, if specific questions come up on a specific service area’s spend, we can provide a more robust analysis and report on that area.”

Dr Brathwaite clarified that the delays in publishing mostly came from challenges collecting and confirming data entries, especially during the pandemic.

He insisted that his team “prioritised data integrity throughout the process” and thanked to those who helped it to put together the data set.

Dr Brathwaite added: “There is always work to do to improve the data collection process and we are reviewing options for doing so.

“While we do intend to engage Ms Tucker in a meeting to provide a general health system update, we specifically invite continued discussion around these accounts and their implications and welcome any specific questions you may have about the data.”

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health echoed Dr Brathwaite’s confirmation.

She added: “In addition, the Bermuda Hospitals Board’s financial statements are scheduled to be tabled in the House of Assembly in the coming weeks.

“These statements will offer further insight into the financial operations and governance of our primary healthcare institution.

“I appreciate the continued engagement on these important matters and welcome all efforts to promote transparency and strengthen Bermuda’s healthcare system.”