PHILIPSBURG--The matter of uninsured patients is becoming a major challenge for Mental Health Foundation (MHF), which up until now is financing the cost to care for such patients.
Of the 500 patients currently registered with the foundation, 47 are uninsured. A total of 35 of the uninsured are locals and 12 are immigrants, MHF Director Eileen Healy disclosed during last Friday's meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament. During that meeting MHF got the opportunity to update Members of Parliament on its history, goals, plans and challenges.
The issue of uninsured patients, Healy said, is a problem that surfaced recently. "Most patients were insured before," she said.
According to Healy it is government's responsibility to care for patients who are "a danger" to the environment. "In our relationship with the police, they always ask the family for an insurance card, but these days they [patients ed.] don't come in with insurance cards," she said. "Social Welfare also gives them a hard time and we can't enter them into AVBZ (insurance for chronically ill persons)."
In giving an insight into the cost for a patient with mental disorders, Healy told MPs that one injection alone for treatment of mental illness can cost as much as NAf. 500 ? NAf. 600. "We are offering free care to these persons at the moment," she said.
National Alliance (NA) MP Dr. Lloyd Richardson said mental health care is an expensive branch of medicine and St. Maarten should not have to take on the burden of other countries. He said immigration should play a role and return persons, who are a burden, to their respective countries.
Other MPs present at the meeting were Leroy de Weever of the Democratic Party (DP); Jules James, Dr. Ruth Douglass, Johan "Janchi" Leonard and Silvia Olivacci-Meyers from the United People's (UP) Party; George Pantophlet from the National Alliance, Independent MP Frans Richardson and President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell. Several of the MPs present also made remarks during the meeting.
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