Cayman News Agency: CIG healthcare costs still soaring, no plan yet

(CNS): Public finances are still struggling to pay a huge bill for soaring health costs, but with just six months until general elections, the UPM government will become the latest in a long line of governments to fail to fix the problems of the health insurance system, which is paid for by taxpayers so that insurers can keep their annual profits.

While the government’s half-year balance sheet looked healthy on the surface, a closer look shows that government spending on health care is unsustainable as many people are underinsured.

Since the beginning of the year, the Cayman Islands government has exceeded its budget by Caymanian dollars by $7.3 million in actual costs for indigent care. Meanwhile, the 2024 budget for tertiary care at local and overseas facilities – the government’s underpayment of medical coverage for Caymanians with serious health care needs – has exceeded its budget by $17.2 million in just six months.

The government also spent more than $9 million over budget in the first six months of the year to inject money into hospitals and its own insurance company, CINICO.

Over time, the government has done nothing to address the shortcomings of the health insurance system. As a result, the government takes money from taxpayers, including excise taxes and financial services charges, to subsidize a private health insurance market that many people cannot afford. Through CINICO or the HSA, the government pays for health care for retired, disabled or unemployed Caymanians, and for those who are underinsured.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Gent Recently noticed Ensuring access to affordable health care is becoming a crisis for the Cayman Islands, despite the “phenomenal amount of money” CIG has pumped into the system. Gent blames this on a “fragmented health care system” that is “very different” from many others, which makes it difficult for vulnerable people to get the health care they need.

Many workers, especially low-wage overseas workers, are covered by the basic SHIC plan, so any serious medical emergency or health crisis leaves them in debt to their healthcare provider. Often, this is the HSA, and when their debt to the hospital is written off, the government indirectly covers the cost as well.

Although the government is aware of the problem, successive health ministers have failed to find a solution. The Cayman Islands will hold elections again in April next year, and this issue still needs to be resolved by the next government.