Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE IS ON THE ROPES

NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE IS ON THE ROPES

“It is going to be a national crisis,” Minister for Health and Social Development Hon. Carvin Malone declared as he laid before the House of Assembly a report which states that the BVI National Health Insurance (NHI) program is significantly strained and suffocating because of financial issues.

The Minister explained that the report is the product of a study that was conducted to assess the financial conditions of the National Health Insurance program and the adequacy of the contributions to support the benefits.

As he drew the attention of the members of the House of Assembly to the document and the serious message it contained the Minister said: “This is not one of the reports that we simply just lay on the table and hope that it goes away. We have to do something about it.”

Hon. Malone explained that the report included an analysis of the utilization of the system as well as expenditure, funding and other trends. He pointed out that the document also included projection over the next five years, a review and discussion around reserving requirements, an outline of the risks relating to the financial viability of the National Health Insurance plan and recommendations on the funding required to maintain the financial viability of the National Health Insurance Plan.

The Minister, in an effort to drive home the disquieting findings in the document read an excerpt from the report’s executive summary which announced that NHI is in a deficit.

The report said:  “The National Health Insurance program is exposed to numerous contingent events and risks and being a relatively small insurance plan … in year to year claims, expenditure can be expected based on current contributions, rates and similar future funding from government the National Health Insurance Plan is expecting on a best estimate basis to experience an accumulated deficit over 2018 to 2022 of some $34M.”

“If the deficit is to be solely funded by an increase in the contribution rate, the contribution rate would have to be increased effectively from 2018 from 7.5 percent to 8.7 percent. Alternatively, the contribution rate could increase by point four percent per annum in each of the following five years, so that it rises to 9.5 percent,” the document further outlined.

One of the suggestions for addressing the NHI situation was the raising of contributions. However, the Minister did not harp on that notion. Instead he said: “While it might be prudent to immediately increase the contribution rate we’ll suggest that any commitment or further review in expenditure or reimbursement or clarify derive from a funding policy be considered prior to implementing the increases,” Hon. Malone told the legislators.

As he emphasized the seriousness of the situation the Minister noted that the report was conducted in 2017 and that a lot has changed since then: “We must know as a people that the numbers have increased even more because after the hurricanes of 2017 there have been increases in every disease known to man relating to stress and certainly it would continue.”

Therefore, he suggested that an updated actuarial report review may well be needed to get a better understanding of the situation. However, in the interim he suggested that a brainstorming meeting involving all stakeholders be called to avert what he said could be a crisis. “It is the intention of the Ministry and of the government to hold a health summit to incorporate the Social Security, the NHI, the BVIHSA, practitioners at all levels to come into the same room, the same hall – all 13 of us (legislators) Mr. Speaker and yourself included coming into the same room because it is going to be a national crisis.”

Meanwhile, the Minister explained that people from the Territory are currently in need of assistance from NHI and therefore it is imperative that the funding issue be addressed. “We have our very own people sitting in hospital waiting room waiting for some word from NHI or from the representative as to whether or not their contribution or their part of their contribution – “could you send me some money so I can get my child in to see the doctor? Who is going to pay for this? Who is going to pay for that? It is an issue that we have on hand. It is one that must be addressed.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
×