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A tourism tax of $4 or $5 per visitor could help fund medical care for tourists in the BVI, Minister of Health and Social Development Vincent Wheatley proposed as he called for creative ways to finance increasingly costly healthcare.
Speaking in the House of Assembly on Thursday evening, October 22, the Ninth District Representative said he had put forward his idea during a health forum for a tourism tax across the Caribbean, including the BVI.
“Why can’t we have a dedicated tax that covers any kind of medical situation that may happen here in BVI? Small, maybe $4 or $5 per head,” Wheatley said.
He suggested the contribution could give visitors an assurance that they would receive a certain level of care if a medical emergency arose during their stay.
Some tourists, he noted, lacked adequate insurance to cover their care while visiting and providing treatment before they returned home remained a challenge.
“It’s something for us to consider because we have to find creative ways to fund healthcare, because healthcare is not cheap,” he said.
Wheatley presented the tax as an idea for consideration, without outlining collection arrangements or the precise level of care it would fund.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement to the House on Wednesday, October 21, the minister said the Government was pursuing comprehensive health system reform to address an ageing population, increasing chronic diseases, advancing medical technology and rising costs.
“Our objective is to ensure that every resident has access to safe, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare, while ensuring that every public dollar invested delivers the greatest possible value for patients, taxpayers, and future generations,” he stated.
He said work was already underway on sustainable healthcare financing, strengthening National Health Insurance, improving governance and accountability, modernising health information and developing more integrated care.
“This work is not theoretical,” Wheatley said. “It is already underway.”
Speaking in the House of Assembly on Thursday evening, October 22, the Ninth District Representative said he had put forward his idea during a health forum for a tourism tax across the Caribbean, including the BVI.
“Why can’t we have a dedicated tax that covers any kind of medical situation that may happen here in BVI? Small, maybe $4 or $5 per head,” Wheatley said.
He suggested the contribution could give visitors an assurance that they would receive a certain level of care if a medical emergency arose during their stay.
Some tourists, he noted, lacked adequate insurance to cover their care while visiting and providing treatment before they returned home remained a challenge.
“It’s something for us to consider because we have to find creative ways to fund healthcare, because healthcare is not cheap,” he said.
Wheatley presented the tax as an idea for consideration, without outlining collection arrangements or the precise level of care it would fund.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement to the House on Wednesday, October 21, the minister said the Government was pursuing comprehensive health system reform to address an ageing population, increasing chronic diseases, advancing medical technology and rising costs.
“Our objective is to ensure that every resident has access to safe, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare, while ensuring that every public dollar invested delivers the greatest possible value for patients, taxpayers, and future generations,” he stated.
He said work was already underway on sustainable healthcare financing, strengthening National Health Insurance, improving governance and accountability, modernising health information and developing more integrated care.
“This work is not theoretical,” Wheatley said. “It is already underway.”
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