~ USZV’s role in nonpayment of healthcare services on French territories. ~
MARIGOT/ PHILIPSBURG:--- Over the past week several persons including politicians from both sides of the island have been expressing their concerns over the border controls that began last week Friday by the Gendarmes and the Police aux Frontiers. While most of us do not agree with the interruption of the free movement of people on St. Maarten/ St. Martin since there are families that are disrupted on both sides, the skeleton must now surface so everyone gets a better understanding.
The free movement of people has been regulated in the Treaty of Concordia which was signed way back in 1648 to be exact on March 23rd 1648.
However, there are some key elements that must be highlighted so that the real truth behind the border controls are brought forward and hopefully by then the French side politicians and business people that have been complaining and organizing protests will truly begin to look further to understand the threat to their healthcare system.
Over the past years, St. Martin’s hospital namely Louis Constant Fleming (LCF) have been plagued by the non-payment of services by persons on St. Maarten that are covered by USZV and some insurance companies.
Workers and pensioners that have contributed to USZV over the years and are still contributing are not able to get adequate healthcare simply because the management of USZV refused to conduct proper business practices with the French Health Institutions just because they cannot manipulate the director of the company assigned by the French Health Care Services to work as the middle company for the French Healthcare Institutions. The debt to LCF and healthcare institutions in Guadeloupe and Martinique are still unpaid and several patients that receive services on the French side are unable to receive further care due to the nonpayment. Some patients that have private insurances also choose to abuse the French healthcare services because they too do not ensure their insurance companies do right by paying their bills.
Some months ago the Health Ministry for the BES islands wrote the management of USZV and informed them that the BES islands are working with the assigned company and recommended that St. Maarten work with the same company but again USZV informed their Dutch counterpart that they will not work with the assigned company for reasons they did not divulge.
While the residents of St. Maarten still show up LCF when the borders are open payment for services are never guaranteed, and with the world pandemic of COVID-19, no one in their right mind will allow their healthcare services to be overrun by people that are not willing to pay for their services or people that do not live in their territory. Already the St. Maarten Medical Center does not grant healthcare services to anyone that are not insured or can guarantee cash payments. French citizens and residents cannot show up at SMMC for free treatment moreover testing for COVID-19.
The story about Observatoire St. Martin and Health Destination has been told over and over and the man behind these businesses has been arrested and remains under investigation by the French judicial services.
USZV prefers to work with OBS even though they know that the bills were never paid while USZV accounts have been debited, they also know of the secret meetings the Chief Financial Officer of USZV have been having with the OBS Director at his office LCF hospital.
Several Ministers of Health on St. Maarten and former Prime Ministers even the Governor of St. Maarten including the current Minister of Health Richard Panneflek and the Inspector General Dr. Earl Best are fully aware of the shady business practice that has been ongoing over the years but none of these highly paid persons have not made any effort to look into this matter because they too get underserved attention and favors from the Director of USZV Glen Carty.
It is clear that ARS Director and the Ministry of Health of France will not allow the Healthcare system on St. Martin to be further burdened especially knowing that the first sets of cases on the French side came from St. Maarten. Yes, one might say in desperate times everyone should be their brother's keepers but for how long can the French hospitals provide services for free while patients are sent to Colombia, Dominican Republic, Curacao, and the Netherlands and those hospitals, hotels, and care services are being paid.
Currently, the ARS and Red Cross on St. Martin are conducting mass PCR testing for COVID-19, these tests are free of charge for persons living on the French side, while the Dutch side is asking its people to pay for these tests that are deemed necessary to fight the COVID-19 warfare.
Already hundreds of people are without work, many are not being paid their salaries even though the SSRP is being paid out monthly, some companies that have been collecting their SSRP are even laying off workers, yet these very people that are now vulnerable are asked to pay for the tests and those that are asymptomatic could not even get the test during the first wave of COVID-19 on St. Maarten.
It is time for the politicians that are supposed to represent the people that elect them to go beyond and ensure that those managing the USZV and its funds do right by their people and pay those they owe. The culprit behind these border controls should not be left hidden in their closets much longer instead they should be dragged out and brought to justice.
