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PHILIPSBURG--The introduction of a visitor health fee can raise millions for health care in St. Maarten, says Health Minister Cornelius de Weever.
He told reporters at Wednesday's Council of Ministers press briefing that a health fee of US $1 could be considered to be charged on airline tickets or cruise ships. With the 1,700,000 to 1,800,000 and projections for 2,000,000 cruise ship passengers and 500,000 stay-over visitors, St. Maarten can collect US $2.2 to US $2.3 million, or even US $2.5 million, to be used specifically for national health infrastructure that serves both the resident and visitor populations.
"By introducing a visitor health fee, we can improve the health infrastructure like our ambulance system, mobile medical unit and our health management information system. All of this can be seen in the context of our country moving towards achieving universal coverage in health," he said.
"We can include a public health emergency fund to be established to assist St. Maarten in dealing with public health emergencies to further protect our health against the spread and outbreak of infectious/communicable diseases.
"Our recent experiences with the epidemic of chikungunya or the global transmission of diseases like bird flu or even Ebola highlight their rapid spread and demonstrate the serious health and economic consequences for vulnerable populations like ours.
"Similarly, with the advent of larger cruise ships, the examples of illnesses occurring on these vessels whilst in port, which we experienced in 2012 and the Turks and Caicos Islands as well, highlight the urgent need for public health resources that are capable to deal with these risks as and when they occur."
De Weever said that in addition to meeting the public health risks of infectious diseases, the health system also could address partially the needs arising from trauma and other serious events by providing access to first-line treatment in St. Maarten and assisting with transportation when locally unavailable.
He said that when focus was placed on prevention, health care expenses would decrease: "When we focus on quality care from doctors, our cost will go down and we will continue to hold SZV [Social and Health Care Insurances – Ed.] and SMMC [St. Maarten Medical Centre – Ed.] accountable for quality care and our cost will go down."
