A new form of "total income" tax will not be introduced to fund the Government's FutureCare initiative, but existing taxes may be changed to support it.

The Ministry of Health said yesterday it was important that people not jump to conclusions about how FutureCare will be funded because initial research on it has yet to be done.

A Request for Proposal (RFP), asking interested vendors to submit plans on how to develop the programme, was issued by the Government last week.

It outlined what services FutureCare planned to provide to all Bermudians citizens 65 and over. The universal coverage would be a step beyond the current Health Insurance Plan (HIP) and would allow seniors the choice of who they want to be treated by as well as coverage of hospital treatments, long-term health care and home health care.

The final paragraph of the RFP stated: "The particular revenue sources would be designed optimally for Bermuda's economic structure and would include some mix of following revenue sources: employer contribution, employee contribution, total income or wage-based tax, coordination of benefits and patient cost sharing.

The Royal Gazette asked the Health Ministry if it was looking into introducing a "total income tax", which could include taxation on a broad range of income including capital gains, or the profit from sales of assets such as stock or real property.

Permanent Secretary of Health Warren Jones, said: "It is important to note that the Government is not proposing to introduce any new tax.

"What we will be looking at is the forms of taxation that presently exist and how they might be amended to support FutureCare.

"Most importantly, the RFP has been sent out to invite broad and varied proposals to give the Government options to look at for FutureCare development.

"People seem to be jumping to the final product before we have even received models for consideration."

He added that at the conclusion of the RFP process, Government would evaluate the proposals and consult with various sectors of the community before Cabinet makes any decisions.

"I think the time to be concerned about what the FutureCare product will look like is at the time that we have models to share and consult upon," he said.

"FutureCare will not be developed in a vacuum and the Government is well aware of maintaining the delicate balance that allows both local and international business to operate successfully."