Bermuda’s spending on healthcare could rocket to $1.5 billion by the year 2020, according to a report made public yesterday by the Bermuda Health Council.Figures revealed in the BHeC’s National Health Accounts Report 2011 show that the Island spent a total of $628.4 million last year on healthcare or 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).It also shows the Island’s soaring health costs rose nine percent over 2009’s figure of $576.3 million.At current trends, expenses stand to reach $22,600 per person at the end of the decade more than double last year’s expenditure.BHeC CEO Jennifer Attride-Stirling told The Royal Gazette: “Most would agree that this rate of growth is not sustainable for any country.”However, she cautioned the figures were based simply on trends of the past seven to ten years. Last year’s report, for instance, predicted $1 billion in spending by 2016.“It doesn’t say it would have to occur,” Ms Attride-Stirling said. “It can be curbed with the right cost-containment measures. We publish these reports in order to develop policy.”Overseas medical care was the top contributor, she added, and represents the fastest-rising category of spending.“Overseas healthcare is definitely the biggest culprit. Any small community such as Bermuda will always need to make use of specialist healthcare beyond its borders. What the figures make us question is whether we need to rely on it as much as we do.”The report shows that Bermudians now spend the same amount 15 percent on overseas treatment as they do on local care.A Bermuda Hospitals Board spokesperson said the BHB is working to reduce the need for overseas travel by boosting local services.“A good example of this is the robot, which gives patients access to about 100 specialists in the Lahey Clinic, without leaving Bermuda.”The Ministry of Health and the BHeC unveiled proposals for wide-ranging healthcare reforms in February, with Health Minister Zane DeSilva warning that the Island cannot afford continued increases.The Association of Bermuda International companies (ABIC) last night said its members cite health insurance costs as an increasing concern about the cost of doing business in Bermuda.ABIC executive director Richard Winchell said Mr DeSilva had taken a positive step with the availability of generic drugs.“Some other examples that deserve urgent attention include the administration of Government health insurance, charges and efficiency at KEMH, and the policies around diagnostic testing,” he said.Shadow Health Minister Katherine Michelmore said a 2007 BHeC report had put the Island just behind the US in terms of per-capita costs.“With the rate of increase in costs since then, Bermuda looks set to become the world’s most expensive country for healthcare,” she said.Dr Michelmore called the projected 2020 increase “staggering” and said it should cause concern for all residents. “It is imperative that Bermuda implement a strategy now to reduce healthcare costs,” she said.Mr DeSilva admitted yesterday that “Bermuda has the second most expensive healthcare system in the developed world”.Asked how Bermuda’s new health plan would be able to cover everyone if spending could potentially more than double over this decade, the Health Minister said: “The projection in the Health Accounts assumes that costs will continue to rise at the same pace.“The national health plan puts sustainability as one of the core values, and the goals propose cost-containment measures. The aim is to prevent the $1.5 billion projection from becoming a reality, and we are confident that, with the right interventions, we can slow down the rate of increase while ensuring everyone has access to the care they need.”He added: “What is certain is that we can’t afford to do nothing.”l Useful website: www.bhec.bm.