Doctors are demanding FutureCare patients pay fees up front because of long delays in having their bills reimbursed by Government.GPs say they were forced to do so after waiting as long as nine months before they were paid for care given to those enrolled in the public health plan.One physician told The Royal Gazette: “I do my best for our senior patients, but ultimately we have to look at the bottom line.“In the end, we had to collect payments up front, although I am easing it up a bit. I don’t like to take that much money from the elderly.”She said that her practice had started asking for upfront payments from seniors last year after it was faced with delays of six months and more. “We can’t survive without it,” she said.Another GP’s office was accustomed to waiting months for claims but had not yet resorted to charging elderly patients up front for their healthcare.An administrator at the practice said: “I’ll be honest, they do take a long time sending us the pay for claims. We’ve had some patients highly upset but we do the best we can.”An accountant for two practices said: “Unfortunately, we make people pay up front for FutureCare, only because I have had so many problems with it.”She said Government typically sent a cheque between six and nine months after patients had been treated.“It seems FutureCare are getting their act together. It used to be ridiculous. We were getting cheques so late that I had a hard time knowing who they went to. I have recently received a cheque from June for FutureCare, which is an improvement.”She said the problem predated the FutureCare health scheme, that payment through the Government Health Insurance Plan (HIP) had been even slower.“I know of some who waited two years,” she said.Shadow Minister for Seniors Louise Jackson yesterday described FutureCare as “unfair, unjust and unsustainable”.She questioned how Government would manage a national health plan which would provide healthcare for all residents “if they cannot provide a fair, sustainable healthcare plan for about 8,000 seniors”.She said the scheme was taking six months to a year to process doctors’ payments while private insurance companies reimbursed claims by doctors and dentists within four to six weeks.“One private insurance company has a two-week claim pay out, and can pay out in three to five days if the claim is submitted electronically,” the MP stated.Some seniors have stopped going to the doctor because they cannot afford paying their fees up front, she added.“The launching of FutureCare in response to an election promise by former Premier Ewart Brown was unfair,” she said.“There was a lack of advertising, with only a few town hall evening meetings held. Most seniors do not like to come out at night.”Mrs Jackson added: “The lack of promotion was a subterfuge to keep enrolment low.”The Government-run health insurance plan was introduced in stages, starting in 2009.Seniors who joined the first phase of the FutureCare plan were paying $375 a month for it, Mrs Jackson said. Those who joined phase two or planned to join phase three had to pay $675 a month for the same benefits.“Government is shifting the burden of payment for FutureCare to seniors,” she said.The Ministry of Health declined to comment.Useful website: www.bhec.bm.