A planned framework would allow the Government to review the potential repercussions of changes to Bermuda’s healthcare ahead of their implementation, a Ministry of Health spokeswoman said this week.

The proposed structure would enable major healthcare decisions to be assessed not only from a commercial perspective but for their impact on patients, access to care, costs and to the wider system.

It would allow the Bermuda Health Council to review “significant healthcare changes” under defined criteria and assess quality, competition and sustainability.

The spokeswoman added: “Following that review, the final decision on whether a proposed change may proceed would rest with the Minister of Health.

“This establishes a clear system of accountability — the health council provides independent, evidence-based assessment, while the minister retains responsibility for the final decision in the public interest.”

Kim Wilson, the health minister, said: “We welcome innovation, investment and responsible change when they strengthen healthcare and improve outcomes.

“But when significant changes have the potential to affect access, affordability, patient choice or the wider stability of our health system, the Government must have the ability to step in, examine the implications and protect the public interest.

“Our residents should never be an afterthought when major decisions are made about their healthcare — our health system must work for everyone, not simply for the largest or most powerful interests within it.”

Ricky Brathwaite, the chief executive of the health council, noted: “Bermuda’s healthcare system exists first and foremost to serve the people of this country.

“We should welcome innovation, investment and philanthropy where they improve lives, but major healthcare decisions must also be considered in the context of the wider system.

“Advance review is about understanding the consequences of significant change before they become difficult to reverse and keeping the people of Bermuda at the centre of the decisions that shape their healthcare.”

The spokeswoman added that the Government was also advancing “stronger competition and anti-monopoly protections to ensure that excessive concentration of market power does not undermine patient choice, fair competition or access to care”.

Ms Wilson said the Government needed the “tools necessary to protect our residents when changes within our healthcare system could have consequences far beyond a single organisation”.

No specific healthcare changes were mentioned, but the comments come several months after Allshores, a merger between local insurers BF&M and Argus, was unveiled.

The company announced in February that its clients would be able to purchase certain high-cost prescription drugs only from Phoenix-owned pharmacies, but could fill other prescriptions elsewhere.

The announcement sparked concerns from the Bermuda Medical Doctors Association, the Ministry of Health and independent pharmacy owners.

Allshores initially postponed these restrictions but the partnership with Phoenix came into effect on June 1.

The insurer said at the time that the restrictions represent 3 per cent of prescriptions but a third of all prescription costs.

Allshores was not the only insurer to find itself in hot water over prescriptions. CG established CG Pharmacy in 2023 as a way to cut costs for its clients and the general public.

Craig Cannonier, the Shadow Minister of Tourism, Transport and Culture, said in 2024 during parliamentary debate that insurers owning their own pharmacies — which doctors are not allowed to do — marked a conflict of interest.

CG denied this claim and noted that its standard insurance plans cover 100 per cent of generic prescriptions at all local pharmacies.

Ms Wilson added this week: “We will act decisively in the public interest. We will examine the findings, listen to the people affected and, where necessary, use the authority of government to protect the public interest.”

The Royal Gazette has reached out to the Ministry of Health with further queries.