People who look after their health could be rewarded by not having to fork out as much for their healthcare premiums under the new National Health Plan.Health Minister Zane DeSilva said he was keen to reduce health insurance payments for fit and healthy people who rarely visited a doctor.The announcement was made after a total of 100 people took the opportunity to have their say on the new proposal to provide healthcare for all.Mr DeSilva said nothing had been set in stone, but he was keen to incorporate some of the general public’s ideas into the final version of the healthcare blueprint.He said one such revision, which had been suggested by several people, was financial incentives for those leading healthy lifestyles.Mr DeSilva said he was keen to incorporate “an incentive for those who are healthy, who don’t have many doctors’ visits.”The National Health Plan, which is said to be “a work in progress”, was drawn up to better address insurance coverage to contain the increases in healthcare costs.It set out 11 goals to bring about improvements in the “access, quality and efficiency” of the health system.Mr DeSilva released The Consultation Feedback Report at a press conference yesterday. He said it was “very encouraging” that 100 written responses were received from across the community.The feedback came from the two opposition political parties, two trade unions, three private health insurers, six charities, 11 health professionals, 36 members of the public and 40 employers and business advocacy groups.Most people supported basic coverage for all, saying that healthcare was a right not a privilege, and also agreed that rising healthcare costs should be capped by Government.People also agreed with reforming the way health insurance policies were reimbursed with some calling for up front costs to be abolished.However, most people, particularly employers and business advocacy groups, were not in favour of proportional contributions depending on earnings. Concerns raised were that it would drive away international business, damage the economy and unfairly impact higher income groups.There was a mixed response on plans to streamline the use of overseas care to medically necessary treatment with people saying that it should be a personal choice as healthcare was cheaper overseas.Other recommendations proposed by the public include reducing the duplication of services provided by charities and the Bermuda Hospitals Board, introducing a health clinic to avoid reliance on KEMH’s emergency room and setting up a review board committee to determine overseas care eligibility.Other wide-ranging suggestions put forward included closing the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute and moving psychiatric patients to KEMH, raising the pensionable age to 70 and increasing maternity leave to improve the health of babies and population.Mr DeSilva said: “Overall, the feedback offered us the reassurance that there was very strong support for universal access to healthcare, and enhancing the basic package.“Going forward, the feedback will result in some revisions to the National Health Plan.“While the direction for reform remains the same, there were some great recommendations to be included in the Plan.”It comes after more than 40 public meetings were held earlier this year with members of the public firing questions at health bosses. Many of the questions centred around how the National Plan would be financed, although the precise details of how much it will cost and who will pay remain undecided.Mr DeSilva added that he “lived and breathed” the National Health Plan every day, saying it had been “all hands on deck” since the consultation paper was released in February.He said: “The purpose of the National Health Plan is to reset the founding values of our health system.“We want to make sure that quality healthcare can be affordable and accessible to all residents.“And we want to ensure we have a health system befitting of 21st century Bermuda.” Health bosses have previously estimated it will take a total of seven years to roll out the National Plan. However, they want to have universal access and proportional contributions in place by 2013.The feedback report can be found on the Ministry of Health and Bermuda Health Council websites at www.gov.bm and www.bhec.bm