Bermuda Health Plan 2020
Bermuda Health Plan 2020
Creating a sustainable platform for patient-centred care.
Creating a culture for health in Bermuda will require different ways of working across the public, private and third sector to tackle the wider social and economic issues that affect health and to deliver services in different ways that support communities and individuals manage their own health and sustain healthy behaviours.
This segment of reforms for health system improvement focuses on:
- Increasing access to basic health insurance
- Encouraging and expanding the use of community-based care
- Encourage healthy lifestyles through involving health professionals and organizations
- Increase the access to interventions to prevent and manage non-communicable diseases and their risk factors
Within our local health system, enhancements to essential health services are driven through coverage by the basic, mandated package of insurance, which is currently called the Standard Health Benefit (SHB). As such, reforms will focus on the review of the current basic plan and opportunities for its improvement to accomplish the stated priorities. Along with identifying specific services to include for coverage, it is also important to determine how these services can fit into a larger whole system approach to public health improvement.
Following multiple considerations on what Bermuda needs to do to ensure everyone has access to affordable, essential healthcare, the Government has decided to adopt a “Unified” model of health financing, akin to a single payer system. This was selected after considering the detailed advantages and disadvantages of various financing options, and the feedback of key stakeholders. The Government has adopted the unified model because it has the greater chance of improving efficiency, reducing duplication and controlling health costs.
The goal is to begin the transition to a better basic health plan and a single payer in the third quarter of 2020. So there is a great deal to decide and plan for before then. We want to do this together, looking after the best interest of Bermuda as a whole.
You can find out more about the health financing reforms and consultation at www.gov.bm/healthplan and read the Health Financing Reform Consultation Guide.
Phases
Request for Comment on Options under Consideration
Creating a culture for health in Bermuda will require different ways of working across the public, private and third sector to tackle the wider social and economic issues that affect health and to deliver services in different ways that support communities and individuals manage their own health and sustain healthy behaviours.
This segment of reforms for health system improvement focuses on:
- Increasing access to basic health insurance
- Encouraging and expanding the use of community-based care
- Encourage healthy lifestyles through involving health professionals and organizations
- Increase the access to interventions to prevent and manage non-communicable diseases and their risk factors
- Within our local health system, enhancements to essential health services are driven through coverage by the basic, mandated package of insurance, which is currently called the Standard Health Benefit (SHB). As such, reforms will focus on the review of the current basic plan and opportunities for its improvement to accomplish the stated priorities. Along with identifying specific services to include for coverage, it is also important to determine how these services can fit into a larger whole system approach to public health improvement.
Following multiple considerations on what Bermuda needs to do to ensure everyone has access to affordable, essential healthcare, the Government has decided to adopt a “Unified” model of health financing, akin to a single payer system. This was selected after considering the detailed advantages and disadvantages of various financing options, and the feedback of key stakeholders. The Government has adopted the unified model because it has the greater chance of improving efficiency, reducing duplication and controlling health costs.
The Ministry of Health is encouraging public discussion on how to make healthcare better in Bermuda. In particular:
- What a new basic insurance plan should include and cost (which will replace SHB)
- What we need to do to transition to a unified health financing system (a Roadmap)
The goal is to begin the transition to a better basic health plan and a single payer in the third quarter of 2020. So there is a great deal to decide and plan for before then. We want to do this together, looking after the best interest of Bermuda as a whole.
You can find out more about the health financing reforms and consultation on the following pages:
