Government backbencher Derrick Burgess has called for seniors health insurance to be nationalised to ensure no pensioner goes without.

It follows the suggestion by Opposition Seniors spokesman Louise Jackson for Government to stump up the cost of Hospital Insurance Plan coverage for the Island's 6,000 pensioners.

Monthly HIP payments have now risen to $161 a month, pricing out some pensioners and needy people.

Mr. Burgess said: “I have mentioned it in PLP political circles that we should nationalise health insurance for seniors.

“When you have seniors having to forego one thing to do the other when they are both necessary it's pretty sad.

“I know one senior who doesn't get certain medication because it is very expensive and they can't afford it. That's not good.

“This has been on-going for me within the party. It is nothing new.

“I said ‘why don't we charge each working person $5 to $10 a week to take care of our seniors - or whatever'. I said that to try to stimulate some better ideas.

“That was just an idea off the top of my head. I am not opposed to people criticising that - I am just saying criticise it with something better because we want to find a solution.

“It's not a Bermuda problem, it is a world problem.”

He agreed with Mrs. Jackson that people needed to debate the subject of how to improve health funding for seniors.

“There shouldn't be an objection to it because if you live long enough you will benefit. It doesn't have to be a long debate.”

Age Concern Executive Director Claudette Fleming said the debate had already started with the recent health summit but she wasn't sure who would now take the lead.

“What is yet to be determined is whether the health council will actually become the driver.”

The health council is due to be up and running by 2006 to plan Bermuda's health needs.

Ms Fleming said it was up to the public to keep the pressure up on improving health care for seniors but she questioned whether simply getting Government to pay for HIP would be good enough.

“Is HIP an acceptable level? Two free doctor's visits and $1,000 for medicine bills?”

And she said it would be wrong to put the burden of paying for the system on the working person.

“I think we know the whole health system has to be reconstructed.

“Can we really tax the small man?” Instead she called for a redistribution of wealth.

She welcomed the fact that the Health Minister and Finance Minister were working together on the problem of health care funding.

Gerald Simons, president of Argus Group which is Bermuda's largest health insurer, said HIP was experiencing the same pressure on its premiums as other insurance schemes were experiencing because of high medical inflation caused by an ageing population and the costs of drugs and technology.

He said Government already paid 80 percent of hospital costs for those over 65 and 90 percent of hospital costs for those over 75.

“Government pays a significant amount on health care.

“In the long term people will have more money in old age because of compulsory private pension plans now in effect.

“The problem is not so much health care but low incomes - that's the fundamental problem.”