Today’s news about a temporary solution so medical practitioners won’t stop accepting health insurance cards of some 5,250 civil servants and teachers as they had threatened is most welcome, especially for the persons involved and their families. The negative public health and social impact such a measure would have had should not be underestimated, particularly when the country is still recovering from the devastating blow dealt by record-strength Hurricane Irma in September 2017.
To illustrate the latter: it was reported in Tuesday’s paper that 687 people, of whom 423 were first-time applicants, received medical aid from government last year compared to 490 (270 first-timers) in 2017 and 469 (244) in 2016. This increase is largely attributed to the loss of jobs and consequently related health coverage.
Mind you, the underlying structural deficit on the OZR fund from which medical expenses of public sector employees are paid has not been completely eliminated, but government deposited an additional 10 million Netherlands Antilles guilders to tackle the backlog in payments. Local care providers are now receiving a combined NAf. 200,000 owed to them going back up to 10 months.
Social and Health Insurance SZV called the step “a sign of improvement” but also “a short-term fix.” After all, it was recently announced in Parliament that government has a total debt of some NAf. 85 million to SZV.
So, while there is reason to be happy that a possible health crisis could be averted, it remains crucial to guarantee the necessary continuity in efforts to address these arrears, regardless of who is in office and despite whatever other financial issues and budgetary concerns may exist. Otherwise, it will – sooner or later – put the entire system of collective coverage at risk, with all possible consequences.
