The Segregated Insurance Fund – a health fund for disadvantaged Caymanians – switched to an online reporting system that the government hopes will increase efficiency.
The fund, which is financed by mandatory contributions from private health insurance policyholders, helps the government cover the healthcare costs of Caymanians who are indigent, uninsurable or partially uninsurable.
Every private health insurance contract in Cayman contributes to the fund. An insured person with no dependents pays $10 per month, while a contract with dependents pays $20. Those contributions are collected by the insurance companies, who then pay them into the Health Insurance Commission, which manages the fund.
The fund has been running since the passing of the Health Insurance Commission Act in 2016. But on 3 Aug., the way that insurance companies report their contributions changed. A new online reporting portal allows insurers to upload their monthly contribution information directly into the commission’s system.
That’s a marked contrast from the previous system, which requires insurers to email spreadsheets to the commission, whereupon the data must be manually submitted.
Increased efficiency
Health Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks said: “Transitioning to a modernised electronic system gives us real-time insight into contributions made to the Segregated Insurance Fund. Accelerating our access to accurate data empowers the Government to act decisively and shape better, more proactive healthcare policies for the Cayman Islands.”
These are back-office changes that will only be noticed by the insurance companies and the commission. Yet they are part of a wider effort to improve the efficiency of – and reduce costs associated with – Cayman’s healthcare liabilities.
“The online portal for the SIF will assist the HIC to be more efficient and effective in the collection of the funds which will assist the government with paying the cost of medical care for persons who require the assistance,” said Mervyn Conolly, the superintendent of health insurance.