Labour Government keeps manifesto promise to civil servants, new benefits included in Group Medical Insurance at no cost

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas (Photo by Erasmus Williams)

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, AUGUST 29TH 2012 (CUOPM) – The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Administration of Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas has delivered on its manifesto promise made to public servants.

Prime Minister Douglas on Tuesday announced major improvements to the insurance coverage provided to all Government employees under the Group Medical Insurance Scheme managed by the National Caribbean Insurance Company Ltd.

He said the new arrangements will improve the quality of life of all public servants.

“We have been able to improve the package which our civil servants will now receive if they were to fall ill and have to get medical treatment. We believe that this is a modern day,” said Prime Minister Douglas during his weekly radio call in programme “Ask the Prime Minister.”

He said public servants have in the past had to dig into their own savings and pension funds to help themselves and their families in order to meet expensive medical bills.

“This has been changed by a caring Labour Government and is part and parcel of my Government’s attempt to improve and modernized the public service sector not only providing pensions to our former non-established worker (now Auxiliary Employees) by making it law for them now to receive their pensions, but also to ensure that they are fully covered by the Government’s Medical Insurance Scheme and they can benefit like all other public servants,” said Prime Minister Douglas.

The insurance coverage has been upgraded to include Life insurance coverage of $10,000.00 per employee, Accidental death and dismemberment coverage of $10,000.00 per employee, coverage of AIDS or AIDS-related illnesses up to an amount of $50,000.00, an annual Physical Examination, Air Ambulance Benefit, Dental Care Benefit and Vision Care Benefit.

The values of all the insurance benefits provided previously have now significantly increased.

Whereas before the major medical insurance benefit was capped at $100,000.00; the same benefit is now $750,000.00, and it is renewed every three (3) years.

The new Group Medical Scheme is provided at no cost to public servants and is financed wholly by the Government of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis as a benefit to all Government employees to supplement existing employment perquisites.

The improvements made to the Scheme are all in keeping with Government’s continuing efforts to improve the conditions of all its employees, and to ensure that Government employees at all levels can adequately meet their health care needs with the expectation this will contribute to increased productivity in the workplace.

Dr. Douglas said there is an on-going information sharing exercise being conducted by the Human Resource Department for all public officers.

Prime Minister Douglas, who is also Minister responsible for Human Resource Development is down to address civil servants at a briefing session on Wednesday morning.