Health Minister Nelson Bascome announced yesterday that Government's Health Insurance Plan, HIP, will be expanding its coverage starting on Friday.

The expansion, which he said comes at no additional cost, was initially announced in May. It includes a basic dental plan, provided in co-operation with the Argus Group, as well as $100,000 in coverage for kidney transplants.

"This represents the first time that HIP will partner with a local insurer to provide services to the public," said Mr. Bascome. "I believe that this recognises the improvements that have been taking place in the health insurance section to garner the confidence of Argus to partner with them."

President and CEO of the Argus Group, Gerald Simons, said that the Group was pleased to be involved with HIP.

"I am confident that our staff will provide high-quality service to HIP members," said Mr. Simons.

The dental coverage offered by HIP includes basic preventative and diagnostic services, along with surgical and minor restorative dentistry work, funding 75 percent of expenses on qualified procedures.

Next month, more details of the plan will be mailed to HIP policy holders, and instructions detailing how to file dental insurance claims.

While the dental plan is the largest addition to the health insurance programme, it also promises some coverage over visits to internal medical physicians, along with eye surgery and outpatient treatment at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital bone fracture clinic.

"The new specialist procedures are designed to provide benefits to HIP policy-holders that are currently unavailable," said Mr. Bascome."Although the benefits apply to all policy-holders, it is no secret that we have targeted our seniors."

One of the more notable changes in policy was the increase in coverage of kidney transplantation from $30,000 to $100,000, which was criticised by some because it still falls short of the $150,000 cost of the procedure.

While the packages will not arrive in policy-holders mail boxes until later in the month, coverage begins on Friday. If a policy holder gets any dental work done between August 1 and when they receive their package, they are asked to keep their receipts so the work can be claimed later.

Any policy-holders who do not receive a package are asked to contact HIP or visit the Department of Social Insurance.HIP is the standard health plan offered by the Bermuda Government, covering over 5,250 people, with as many as 135,000 claims made every year.

"The new benefits are a demonstration of Governments commitment to provide the public with improved services through HIP while maintaining the plan's cost," said Mr. Bascome.