THE COST OF private medical care in Barbados could go up within the next 90 days.
Doctors’ fees could jump by as much as 60 per cent. This will mean that patients who now pay, for example, $150 for a gynaecological consultation would face a fee as high as $210, and a visit to a general practitioner could move from an average of $70 to $100.
Dentists’ fees too – from the specialists doing implants and oral maxillofacial surgery to those in general practice – could also be subject to a hike.
The proposed increases are a result of a move by the Medical Protection Society (MPS) of England, which provides the medical fraternity here with indemnity insurance, to seek to raise their rates between 40 and 60 per cent depending on the speciality.
The increases proposed are proportionate to the risks involved if there is a malpractice suit, so every area of medical practice would be affected, sources explained. MPS has reportedly proposed a 60 per cent insurance hike for those who practise obstetrics while neurosurgery, orthopaedics, plastic surgery, anaesthesia, neonatal intensive care, down the line to general practitioner would carry increases according to the risk assessed.
