The Editor Speaks: Sickening increases to CINICO’s members who actually pay for health insurance
We all know costs have increased and one can expect everyone has to pay more. It is by just how much more.
When the Cayman Islands government, without any warning, can shove an increase of over 120% to some of its private residents and one approaching 40% to the rest enrolled in its health care scheme, it becomes extortion bordering on being called robbery.
Worse, the persons affected are its country’s elderly (over 60) who cannot obtain health insurance from the private insurance companies who don’t want them because they are of greater risk, and those in the lower income bracket (i.e. domestics) who can’t afford the private fees.
With government’s own civil servants and the very much smaller group, the seafarers and veterans, getting the CINICO services FREE, it seems to be a case of robbing from the poor to provide for the rich. And by the majority of CINICO’s paying members the vast majority, and I am excluding the seafarers and veterans, are indeed rich.
And the notice all these persons got goes back to Robin Hood times, England’s 12th century, when the announcement of taxes was nailed to a tree informing the country’s residents increases would commence TODAY. And I don’t remember hearing of any increase that more than doubled back then!
Actually the notice CINICO members got of these increases is worse than Robin Hood days. The date on the letter itself says February 27th 2014 and the increase came into effect immediately on March 1st 2014. Except the post mark stamped on the letter is the 4th March and the earliest it got placed in the postal boxes was 2 to 3 days later.
However, because under the CINICO ‘Eligibility Rules & Conditions’ it states: ‘premiums are subject to increase with a minimum of 30 Days’ notice’, the CINICO’s cover letter says “we will be honouring your present rate of $XX for the month of March”.
Of course they are “honouring” it THEY HAD NO CHOICE! Even so, legally they have broken their own Rules & Conditions and even if you discount that by government posting it through their own postal service with a postal date stamp FOUR days into March even with the “honouring gesture” it is still not 30 days notice.
Then CINICO has the gall to say:
In order to maintain your Health Insurance coverage with us:
1. Please ensure you READ the various documents included in the “New SHIC Application Packet”
a. Note: You are not required to complete the “Application & Change of Circumstance form”
2. Please ensure you make your March 2014 premium payment of $XX by March 15th, 2014.
3. Please ensure you make your April 2014 premium payment of $XXX on or before April 1st, 2014, to confirm your acceptance of the New Rate and New Plan.
NOTE: The bold type and bold type with underlining is as the CINICO letter.
The way the letter is written with its bold type and bold type with underlining makes one believe CINICO do NOT WANT TO COVER YOU. Unless you obey their commandments to the letter they have the right to exclude you. To them you are a weed they can remove and discard. The flowers are the ones they have to provide for – the ones that don’t actually pay but smell right because they work for government.
It is only because when the health care law came into affect all those many years ago the powers that be then, that had members of insurance companies, on their panel of ‘experts’ were able to give the private health providers the option of not providing cover to past employees when they reached retirement age. As all its residents had to have health cover government was then forced to allow the discarded and the lower income bracket into their own CINICO health scheme that was originally set up only for their own employees – the civil service.
In March 2013 there was an outcry when CINICO increased their health coverage by “a whopping 40%”. To make the pill easier to swallow then they made their coverage more comprehensive with policy holders being granted more health benefits.
This time around it is no gain just MORE PAIN!!!
The poorer, the older and the sicker you are the harder you fall.
Robin Hood where are you?
