The lack of legislated portability and the failure to eliminate the “preexisting condition” clause in health insurance plans in Cayman make it next to impossible for some individuals to change jobs. This is particularly true if you are older and/or had medical problems in the past. If you have a policy with an insurance provider and you change jobs you may find you can no longer get coverage with your new employer or possibly only at very reduced levels of coverage, or with no coverage for your preexisting problems. This is because of the preexisting condition clause allowed by law. Many are slave to their insurance coverage. To change jobs mean to lose medical coverage. This is because there is no legislation which protects the insured against the denial of coverage due to past medical history or age. The young and healthy most likely not have this problem: Yet.
I personally faced this. I was insured by one of the top plans with one of the “leading” insurance companies in Cayman. I changed jobs and my new employer had coverage with the exact same company, the exact same coverage, the top plan, for their employees. I asked to transfer my coverage to the new group and was told they would not do it at the current level plan, but only the minimum basic plan; they did not want the risk. They already had the risk; I was currently insured by them. This is an example of an insurance company wanting to get rid of risk at the expense of an individual they already covered and had done so for years. Is that real customer loyalty? There is no law to stop them and this change of employment offered them a chance to lower their risk at my expense.
Next another “Respected Firm” makes a bid to get the group coverage from my new employer. The salesman says his firm would be underwriting the company’s employees as a group and would cover all employees regardless of age or preexisting conditions. The underwriters came back and refuse coverage on me, except at unacceptably low levels of coverage. In direct contravention to what we were told by the sales person when they were hungry to get the business. Now that the groups business is locked in they can start getting rid of the risk they do not want.
The Insurance Companies, contrary to their advertisement, are not here to protect the health of the people of these Islands. They are here to look out for their profits, and only their profits. Be wary of what the salesman tells you because what you end up with may be totally different than what you were promised. If you believe otherwise you have blinders on.
What happens to those high risk individuals they manage to get rid of. Well CINICO of course and with coverage which is only the bare minimum. In the case of something larger either the Government has to pick up the tab or the individual goes without needed treatment. But then this is not the Insurance Company’s problem, they are making a profit while Government now has to foot the bill.
There are people who are afraid to change jobs because they fear they will lose their current level of coverage; knowing that the chances are good they will be denied coverage or offered only reduced coverage if they do. They live in fear of what could happen to their loved ones and the burden it would put on them if they lost coverage and had serious health problems. Is this what we want for the people of the Cayman Islands? I know the insurance companies do; this system is good for their bottom line.
The Insurance Industry will not change this system of their own accord. To do so would cost them profits. Our Elected officials need to pass the necessary legislation to make sure the industry cannot continue to do this.
Current politicians have given lip service to the need to eliminate the preexisting clause, but they do nothing to change the law. The time is now for our elected officials to keep their word and actually look out for the well being of all the people, not just the profit of big businesses in Cayman. If no changes are made to the current law the Cayman people will continue to suffer while the Insurance companies continue to prosper at the expense of the health and well being of our citizens and residents.
I want my health care decisions to made by my Doctors; not by corporate executives who are paid to maximize profits for the share holders.
Affordable and quality healthcare should be a basic human right for all people, not just the young, affluent and healthy.
Just my opinion!
