Video: Kim Wilson On Throne Reply Initiatives

November 25, 2015

Following the Opposition’s Reply to the Throne Speech, Shadow Health Minister Kim Wilson expanded on some of the healthcare initiatives contained in the reply such as genetically modified foods and alternative medicine.

Ms Wilson told Bernews, “One of the items that was mentioned in the Reply to the Throne Speech speaks to what a PLP Government would do in so far as it relates to the production and the importation of genetically modified foods.

“We know that there is quite a lot of information and evidence that supports that there are certain foods that have been made genetically modified, that have caused terrible side effects, and in fact, various ailments in persons that consume those foods.

“What I think we would need to do is look more closely at the source of those foods, what type of modification is taking place in those foods, in order to better enhance the food production that’s coming into this island and that the consumers are eventually eating.

“I think that you can look over at a number of other jurisdictions who have put certain types of regulations in force because they have been concerned equally with the genetically modified foods and the consumption of those foods, and the problems that it is causing to the humans in so far as their health.

Asked about the alternative health initiatives mentioned in the reply, Ms Wilson said: “We’re seeing in the 21st century, many, many people are taking more charge and control of their health in so far as not necessarily relying strictly on the conventional types of medicine, which often times prescribe medications that have a multitude of side effects.

“People are now deciding that they would like less invasive forms of treatment, and they’re going towards alternative and complementary forms of medicine such as acupuncture and homeopathy and so forth.

“What a PLP Government would do would be to legislate the requirement for insurance companies to provide further coverage for those types of traditional medicines that we are finding that there’s strong evidence to support that they are equally, if not more beneficial, in so far as treatments of various ailments that people are suffering from.

“Sometimes we see people that will exclusively use alternative medicine, or we’re seeing that many doctors are actually combining it with their conventional practices.

“If that’s the case, then insurance companies should be required to provide insurance coverage for those type of complementary medicines that have been approved and recognized as treatment providers.”

The full PLP response to the 2015 Throne Speech follows below [PDF here]:

click here banner 2015 Throne Speech

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Comments (10)

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  1. Double S says:

    “What a PLP Government would do would be to legislate the requirement for insurance companies to provide further coverage for those types of traditional medicines”

    You guys do realize by forcing insurance companies to cover these ‘alternative’ healthcare methods will result in insurance premiums increasing further, right?

    • Build a Better Bermuda says:

      There is that, plus there desire to have foreign insurance companies come into our market, where they will be governed by the same fee structure that governs local insurers, meaning the only way for the foreign companies to reduce their costs would be to reduce the labour overhead here…

  2. Jr Smith says:

    we need alternative food sources, we rely too heavily on united states produced foods, which is not inline with our lifestyle diet i.e. huh reliance on red meats, fructose corn syrup, enriched flour, and so on. would like to see more quality food import at affordable prices from the carribean and latin america that are more inline with an island diet

  3. hmmm says:

    How would we monitor GM foods and food manufacturers source from Bermuda?

    Some European countries have put a stop on certain GM ingredients manufacture being grown in that country…but that list is pretty slim there.

    So even if we sourced all foods from Europe (increasing the cost on the Bermuda consumer), we still could not guarantee there were no GM ingredients.

    Effectively this is a fluff speech, can even see that in her face as she it talking about it in the video.

    Want to INCREASE the $$$$$$cost of food in Bermuda with no guarantee that you are getting GM free foods, then vote PLP.

  4. NCM says:

    What about ganga and gambling, Ms Wilson? What about the Auditor General’s report? You seem like an intelligent, rational person – so why are you aligned with the PLP who seem intent on destroying Bermuda simply to gain power? Make a real statement and cross the floor. Help those who are leading Bermuda to recovery, rather than those who would continue on their path to put us all in the poor house.

  5. Onion says:

    Unreal.

    The PLP have totally lost touch with reality. The reason that “alternative” medicines aren’t accepted into mainstream medicine is that they don’t work any better than a sugar pill, and in many cases do harm.

    So the PLP have committed to raising healthcare costs by spending money on services that do not work.

    Homeopathic medicine, for example, is nothing but water. There is not a single molecule of active ingredient left in their potions.

  6. Build a Better Bermuda says:

    I am curious about who would say what an effective homeopathy treatment is eligible for coverage. Will they be going through the same rigorous testing required for modern medicines to gain certification. Who would be responsible for those studies, do they intend to set up their own FDA to vet these or even the GM foods? There is more than enough evidence and studies out there from actual scientific institutes that show that most homeopathic remedies are as effective if not less than placebos, much less modern medicine. The few ones I have seen that support homeopathy rely primarily on anecdotal gathering rather than thorough scientific method. For any homoepathy method to ever be signed off on for insurance coverage, it needs to be vetted through an intense scientific method study to show that it is as good as any modern medicine or better, so frankly, the PLP is just talking out their pipe and will ultimately result in paying more in rates.

    • Sickofantz says:

      I think you mean ALL homeopathic medecines. There is no way that insurance companies would go for proffering proven ineffective homeopathy as cures for ill health. They would be sued and the cost would be greater in the long run.
      Anyone who wants to go and believe in this mumbo jumbo can go off and pay for it themselves.

      Maybe the PLP want to build another ‘Homepathic’ hospital?

  7. aceboy says:

    Someone in the PLP has their eye on a Homiopathic medicine practise I suspect.

  8. Sickofantz says:

    “We know that there is quite a lot of information and evidence that supports that there are certain foods that have been made genetically modified, that have caused terrible side effects, and in fact, various ailments in persons that consume those foods.”

    I am terribly disapointed in Kim Wilson’s article here. There isn’t a single IOTA of scientific evidence to support this claim.

    GM foods (which by the way have been here in Bermuda in large quantities for about 20 years are 99.9999999% genetically identical to non GM) so the likelihood of them causing harm is pretty groundless.