A total of 44 businesses have failed to keep up with health insurance coverage for their employees, according to Bermuda Health Council figures.

The BHeC said that more than 200 employees and non-working spouses were affected by firms’ failure to pay up.

BHeC compliance officer Ian Cameron said: “The increase in non-compliant employers is concerning because health insurance provides access to healthcare.

“At a time when Bermuda is seeing an increase in chronic disease in patients, this access becomes vitally important.

“These employees are having to pay out of pocket or are not receiving adequate and necessary healthcare because they cannot afford it.”

And Mr Cameron warned: “It is also illegal to deduct money from an employees’ pay check for health insurance and not use that money to purchase health insurance for that employee.”

A BHeC report said that between April last year and December this year, May was the peak for health insurance dodging, with 48 companies defaulting and 436 people affected.

Figures have fallen since then, but since August 2016, where there were 26 employers in arrears, the numbers of companies with inactive health insurance policies rose steadily to the 46 listed in December of last year.

Two firms wrongly included on the list issued by BHeC today have since been removed.

The BHeC monitors and enforces compliance with health insurance law and insurance companies have to provide monthly updates on companies that have failed to comply with the law.

The only exemptions for health insurance are when workers are employed for 15 hours or less a week, for two months or less or are students working weekends, public holidays or half-term holidays.

The latest list of defaulters is:

?AC Management

First Friends Nursery & Preschool

Paint N Stuff Limited

Aneesah’s Nursery & Preschool

GET Security

Pie Factory Holdings Ltd.

Anna Melotti

Precious Kargo

B&B Fibre Tech

RC Maintenance Limited

Bluegreen Re

Happy Moments Nursery and Preschool

Recon

BTA (Dispatching) Ltd

Heavenly Blessings Nursery

Richardson’s Trucking Service

Carreiro Enterprise

Herb Garden Seniors Residence

Simmons Upholstery

Catcon Enterprises

Inner Harbour Limited (Hunts)

Snorkel Park Company

Cleancut Landscaping

Island Cleaning

Talbot Enterprises

Clifford Simmons Fishing

KC Plumbing

Tamerry Dental Healthcare Centre

Collingwood Holdings

LG Drywall

TECS Limited

CPR Plumbing

Little Sprouts Nursery

The Foot & Ankle Clinic

Crocodile Contracting

MRL Limited

Topley Services

CW Construction & Landscaping

New Genesis

VIP Auto Service

ECM Services Limited

Filter Queen BDA

?Ocean Sails

Waterwood

A spokeswoman for the BHeC said that if a business has been wrongly listed or for inquires about rights to health insurance, people should e-mail healthcouncil@bhec.bm or call 292-6420.