North Side MLA, Ezzard Miller, is absolutely correct. The basic cover the insurance companies provide is totally inadequate and the “cherry pick” of customers they will insure should not be allowed.

Even the government’s own CINICO does not provide adequate cover.

Not only do we have to pay the bill for these inadequacies, the Cayman Islands hospital is having to deal with bad debts. Some of these bad debts are from work permit holders who have left the island and visitors.

The Standard Health Insurance Cover (SHIC) that was only changed three years ago has proved to be inadequate.

So what is the answer?

At present government (us) is paying $11M on overseas healthcare cost and tertiary care, is expecting to pay another $11M on care for the indigent and $2M on medical care for Caymanians who need treatment beyond their insurance, including those not properly insured.

These figures were disclosed during last Monday’s Finance Committee hearing chaired by Marco Archer, the Minister of Finance.

Premier Alden McLaughlin, who is now also Minister of Health, warned any additional cover is going to cost everyone more.

And all of this is before the government has adequately addressed the mental health issues. McLaughlin said insurance firms here do not want to offer mental health coverage.

In some countries private doctors contract with health insurance plans so they get more custom. This lowers the cost to the insured or provides more coverage if they use the contracted doctor. This is an area the government could seriously look at.

Any litigation to stop insurance companies “cherry picking” customers will be vigorously fought by the industry. Worldwide insurance companies actively oppose the creation of a public health insurance plan as part of an insurance exchange that will enable employers and individuals to purchase insurance as a group under market reforms that prohibit screening for pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions and other conditions insurers like to use to deny coverage.

Something has to change. The government needs to make the insurance market more efficient and fair. Specific changes need to be made to make insurance easy to obtain, easy to keep, affordable, and a meaningful source of protection when people need care. For too long insurance companies have been able to deny and limit health care. It’s time to fix the problem to bring down health care costs here in the Cayman Islands so they are fair and affordable for everyone.

It has been proven by the staggering costs government has had to fork out this year that Caymanians fail to get the care they need based on their inability to pay. Let the rich subsidise the poor when it comes to medicine. If not the Cayman Islands health coverage will always be inadequate.