DESPITE some early teething problems, Government's supplementary health care benefit scheme for seniors is running smoothly, say administrators of the Health Insurance Plan (HIP).

But pharmacists and many seniors told the Mid-Ocean News this week the rebate scheme was still riddled with problems.

And Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley charged the recently launched $1,000 prescription rebate was no more than a vote-getting initiative created "close to an election, by a Government trying hard to stay in power", and would still be riddled with the glitches had he not aired them in public.

"Anything that helps seniors in need is great," he said. "It's only right that we should help where we can, but this Government's plan only takes into consideration those seniors who are enrolled in HIP. My concern is that it was a knee-jerk reaction.

"One of the problems of the Smith administration is its knee-jerk reaction to problems and this is another example of that. It's close to an election and on the last day of the House of Assembly, they come up with this.

"I've had calls from pharmacists, from seniors, from many, many people who said it wasn't working. The pharmacists complained about the tracking. I spoke out. If it's been rectified, I'm glad. That's what Opposition is for. I know of an 82 year old whose asthma medication alone costs $100 month. There's no way the rebate can cover that.

"And she's really struggling. When you look at the plight of many of our seniors, the (rebate) doesn't deal with their problems. There is no real plan for them and there are so many out there who I see on a regular basis who are in dire need.

"(The United Bermuda Party) pilot programme will target all seniors in need. There are many who don't have HIP, there are some who have their own insurance programme and it doesn't cover prescriptions. We want to cast the net over everybody in need."

The problem, said one pharmacist, was that the scheme had been "thrust upon them by Government" with no prior consultation.

"We were told it would be done and given very little time to get used to the new system," she said. "There was no consultation with us prior to the announcement."

When the initiative was first introduced, Social Insurance director Karen Daniels admitted, there was some confusion between her department and pharmacists as to how it would be put into practice. But as of July 1, she said, proper procedure had been established.

"Initially, our biggest challenge was in tracking prescription claims between pharmacies because everyone had their own system," she said. "Since then, I've personally met with (representatives from) all of the pharmacies and dicussed the procedure that was going to be in place.

"They've all said it seems to be going very well. We have over 2,000 holders who will probably utilise (the scheme) and we will probably see an increase in enrolment. But we have been monitoring closely and I've heard of no problems whatsoever. "

Government's plans to implement a $1,000-a-year prescription drug benefit for senior citizens enrolled in HIP were announced in the House of Assembly at the beginning of June, by then acting Finance Minister Paula Cox.

The cost of the benefit will be paid out of the Mutual Re-Insurance Fund (MRF), into which all insured are required to make a monthly contribution. Those contributions will increase by $4.42 a month, shared equally between employers and employees. The insurance premium for full coverage under HIP is $133.20 per month.

The legislation, which she said would be made retroactive to the start of the month, was expected to benefit approximately 2,000 seniors enrolled in HIP to the value of more than $2 million per year.

According to one woman who called in to this newspaper on behalf of her elderly mother, however, the benefit has proved more trouble than assistance. Seniors, she claimed, were being forced to pay upfront for their prescriptions and then steered to the Social Insurance Department for reimbursement.

"But there's no cash there so people are being told to hang on to their receipts for an indefinite period until it's all sorted out," she complained. "These are people who didn't have the money to pay for the prescription in the first place.

"Seniors are being forced to pay out money they don't have, pharmacies are complaining that Social Insurance is demanding they keep a list so that the (policy) deductions can be made and Social Insurance doesn't have the manpower to handle all the extra paperwork. They're all being asked to handle a problem that was dumped into their lap by politicians. It's just an election ploy."

When it came to seniors, however, every little bit counted, said Fred Hassell, director of the Bermuda Senior Islanders' Centre at Admiralty House, who highlighted the rebate in his association's monthly newsletter and radio programme.

"We certainly support it 100 per cent," he said. "We advocate anything that improves the financial status of our people. I only know of one person who has taken advantage of it so far. She was very pleased and didn't mention any problems at all."

This, Ms Daniels believes, is the experience that most seniors able to benefit from the scheme will have.

"Between June 20 and 30 we did have holders bring their reciepts to the office," she said. "At the moment, we don't have an automated system in place for processing claims but all pharmacies were supposed to have been ready (to deal with the new procedures by) July 1.

"We have been sending out a current policy listing of (people enrolled) to pharmacies and we regularly process the claims and provide each pharmacy with the balance (of each holder) brought forward for them to use.

"What we have been doing is strongly encouraging all policy holders to watch their purchases. We do expect that some things will slip through the cracks but we have told the pharmacies we will indemnify them. We've had nearly all the pharmacies call and say everything was okay. They've all been very helpful in helping us make sure the policy was put in place."