‘VI healthcare too costly & unsustainable’ - Cromwell Smith
Mr Smith was at the time interviewing personnel from Hire BVI in addition to Simone T. Monsanto, Director of Caribbean Insurers Limited and Jerry R. Smith, Managing Director of Therapy Works LLC.
Health Bankrupting VI
“Healthcare now in the territory has been not just now… very very costly, to the point where our governments are talking about the possibility of healthcare bankrupting the country,” he told the listening audience on the Thursday May 9, 2019, edition of the show.
According to Mr Smith, people of the VI need to put health into focus since the spending on the sector cannot continue.
“So we have to really take stock of ourselves. We have a situation where 47 per cent, almost 50 per cent, half of the population, is suffering from chronic disease.”
Mr Smith Continued, “We [are] spending about a quarter of a million dollars a month on renal care, on dialysis and such that is unsustainable… Even with NHI, we can’t continue in that way, so we need to get a hold of ourselves and take responsibility for our health,” he said.
Healthy Living
Minister for Health and Social Development, Honourable Carvin Malone (AL), during his inaugural address to the Virgin Islands House of Assembly (HoA) on March 12, 2019, had touted partnerships to improve healthcare in the territory.
The minister had said the new government will mobilise all available resources and legal parameters of the Ministry, to secure the wellbeing of everyone residing in the Territory.
However, one solution the panel said could help with the growing health issues and obesity woes is encouraging the territory to live a healthier, active and exercise filled lifestyle.
According to Ms Monsanto, “I think that exercising on the whole, has to become someone’s lifestyle and not just you telling someone you need to go exercise. So they of their own self have to get it [to be] a part of their lifestyle, otherwise we’re going to be in trouble if we don’t,” she said as part of combating local chronic health issues.
With that, the Insurance Director urged the Territory to come out and support the 4th Annual CIL Health and Wellness Expo happening on Saturday, May 25, 2019 from 9:00am to 4:00pm at the Multi-Purpose Sports Complex.
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11 Responses to “‘VI healthcare too costly & unsustainable’ - Cromwell Smith”
Some of the challenges faced by VI are: a. small size, b. small population, c. recruiting and retaining staff, d. distance from large land masses, e. VI population spreading over approximately 15 inhabited islands, f. shortage of specialty professional staff and facilities, g. professional isolation........etc. For example, the population is not reaching the critical mass that may be needed to provide for more specialists and facilities. The NHI was a good start to delivering healthcare to more people. However, as noted earlier, the BVI is tiny with a small population. In insurance, the larger the pool the less the cost to individual members of the pool; the larger the pool the more premiums can be collected to deliver demanded services.
Moreover, to provide more services to more people at a lower cost, the pool must be increased, ie, cooperating and collaborating with other regional entities, increasing the supply (providers) to meet growing demand, improving service delivery, providing more efficient and effective management of healthcare programme, advocating for maximium preventative care.....etc. Nonetheless, without major changes to and to deliver the desired level of care, government will have to share in more of the delivery cost or residents will have to pay higher premiums. More competition will force providers to deliver services at a lower cost.