Good afternoon.

This year marks an important turning point for Bermuda’s health system.

The 2026–2027 Budget represents one of the most significant investments in health in our country’s recent history. More importantly, it marks the moment where health reform moves from planning to implementation, a year focused on alignment, accountability, and measurable progress across the health system.

For too long, discussions about reform have centred on what should happen next. This year is about ensuring that the structures, investments, and partnerships across our health system are working together to deliver real results for the people of Bermuda.

The Ministry of Health, including Headquarters, the Department of Health, the Health Insurance Department, the Bermuda Hospitals Board, and the Bermuda Health Council

— remains guided by a clear vision: healthy people in healthy communities.

For the 2026–2027 fiscal year, the Ministry of Health has been allocated three hundred and two point four million dollars, an increase of more than fifty-seven million dollars compared to last year’s budget.

This represents one of the largest health investments Bermuda has made in recent years.

But this investment is not simply about sustaining services.

It is about strengthening inclusion, improving affordability, ensuring accountability, and modernising our health system for the future.

One of the most important priorities in this year’s Budget is ensuring that residents who are currently outside of the healthcare system have a pathway into care.

Through the new Health Inclusion Initiative, we are creating an entry point into healthcare for uninsured individuals by providing access to a defined set of essential services.

On an island as connected as Bermuda, leaving people outside the healthcare system ultimately harms everyone. Untreated chronic conditions become emergencies.

Preventable illness becomes costly hospital care.

The Health Inclusion Initiative allows individuals to stabilise chronic conditions, access treatment, and begin engaging with the health system in a structured way.

As the broader Core Benefits framework under Universal Health Coverage is

implemented, individuals entering through this initiative will transition into a unified coverage model designed to work more efficiently and sustainably for all residents.

Investing in Prevention and Early Detection

This Budget also strengthens our focus on prevention.

We know that Bermuda faces a growing burden of chronic disease, including diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.

Treating these conditions only after complications develop is costly for the health system and devastating for families.

That is why this year we will move forward with a National Screening Programme

designed to detect chronic conditions earlier.

Earlier detection saves lives and reduces long-term healthcare costs.

To support this work, the Ministry is strengthening claims analytics, real-time health data systems, and population health dashboards, allowing us to identify risks earlier and intervene sooner.

Our goal is to shift Bermuda’s health system away from crisis-driven spending and toward prevention-driven sustainability.

This Budget also makes a direct investment in the next phase of Universal Health Coverage.

A total of $3 million has been allocated to advance UHC implementation and strengthen the digital infrastructure required to support it.

This funding will allow the Ministry to:

• modernise the legislative and regulatory framework
• complete actuarial and financial modelling

• design provider payment structures
• strengthen digital health systems
• expand claims analytics and population health dashboards Universal Health Coverage is not simply a policy goal.

It is a commitment to fairness.

It ensures that every resident has access to essential healthcare services without facing financial hardship, while also providing the system with the stability and predictability required to plan for the future.

Another major priority in this Budget is strengthening long-term care and community services.

Hospital beds are increasingly occupied by patients who are medically ready for discharge but cannot safely transition back into the community due to limited care options.

To address this challenge, we will establish a 30-bed transitional care unit designed to relieve pressure on acute hospital services and improve patient flow.

We will also advance the rebuild of Lefroy House and continue progress on the expansion of the Sylvia Richardson Care Facility, increasing long-term care capacity and ensuring that seniors receive care in the most appropriate setting.

Complementing these investments, a Home-First strategy, supported by remote monitoring technology and coordinated community care, will help seniors remain safe and independent in their homes whenever possible.

Primary care infrastructure will also be modernised.

This includes refurbishment of public clinics in Hamilton, St. George’s, and Somerset, ensuring that residents have access to modern community-based care.

The Ministry will also advance:

• interoperable electronic medical records
• expanded e-prescribing
• digital navigation tools that make it easier for residents to understand their benefits and access care.

These improvements will make the system easier to navigate and strengthen coordination across providers.

A major component of this Budget is the $55 million in operational support for the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

This is the single largest health investment in the 2026–2027 Budget. This funding will:

• meet BHB’s statutory and contractual obligations
• address near-term cash-flow pressures
• stabilise hospital operations during system reform
• protect continuity of care at KEMH and MWI
• support safe staffing and essential clinical services

In addition, the Budget allocates $10 million in capital funding for KEMH and $2 million for infrastructure upgrades at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute to modernise equipment and strengthen clinical environments.

For the public, these investments mean shorter wait times, smoother admissions, improved patient flow, and more reliable access to emergency, acute, and mental health services.

However, stabilising the hospital is only one part of the solution. Stability cannot come at the expense of innovation or reform.

Our responsibility is to ensure that the entire health system works better, from prevention and primary care to long-term care and digital coordination.

This Budget ensures that while the hospital remains stable, the broader system continues to evolve and improve.

This Budget also strengthens support for seniors and working families.

A total of $14 million has been allocated to expand benefits under HIP and FutureCare, including:

• free annual health examinations
• expanded prescription drug coverage
• a predictable $25 co-pay for primary care visits

These improvements reduce financial barriers to routine care and help residents manage chronic conditions earlier.