Nearly 1,500 sent overseas for healthcare

The number of overseas referrals for medical treatment is on the increase in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The number of overseas referrals for medical treatment and high-costing cases is on the increase, says the National Health Insurance Plan (NHIP).

In the 2017-18 financial year there were four medical cases that cost the NHIP more than US$500,000 and 47 cases for which health care expenditure was above US$90,000.

There were 1,404 overseas referrals in the 2017-18 financial year, up from 1,385 in the previous year. This included 258 emergency referrals, compared to 215 for the similar period in 2016-17.

70-80% of all persons who are transferred overseas are Turks and Caicos Islanders. Most go to Miami in the US or the Cayman Islands or Nassau in the Bahamas.

There was significant activity under the Treatment Abroad Programme relating to cardiology transfers (328), ophthalmology (316) oncology (95), neurosurgery (119), and vascular surgery (68).

During the last 9 years the NHIP has managed over 6,000 overseas referrals through the Treatment Abroad Programme. There have been 160,000 local provider claims and a million local pharmaceutical claims.

The NHIP covered 33,218 people at March 2018. All legal residents living and working in the in the Turks & Caicos Islands are required to register with the NHIP. Tourists and transient visitors to the Islands are not eligible to be registered