Column: MP Burgess On PLP, Seniors & More

[Opinion column written by MP Derrick Burgess]

So Now the OBA Cares About Seniors?

It’s almost laughable to hear the OBA candidate for c36 calling for better assistance for seniors, as if the OBA’s record on seniors issues didn’t exist. For years, when they had the opportunity to do something meaningful for our seniors, they flatly refused to increase their pensions, telling them, “money doesn’t grow on trees.” Our elders were left to struggle with rising costs, all while the OBA ignored their pleas for help.

Now, suddenly, with a by-election on the horizon, they’ve discovered a concern for seniors. But Bermuda remembers the years of neglect, the financial hardship our seniors endured under an OBA government. In contrast, the Progressive Labour Party has consistently taken steps to support our seniors, keeping our promise to increase seniors pensions year after year, even in difficult financial times. We understand that our seniors deserve dignity and respect, not empty promises.

MP Derrick Burgess signing the Senior’s Charter of Rights & Responsibilities.

The PLP has:

• Increased pensions for our seniors to match the rate inflation 7 times since 2017.
• Increased FutureCare prescription drug benefit from $2,000 to $3,000 a year and introduced a prescription drug benefit under HIP for the first time.
• Provided interest-free home improvement loans of up to $15,000 for families who need help modifying their home or that of their senior loved one.
• Boosted income to seniors on financial assistance to absorb rising costs.
• Amended the law to provide for better standards in our care homes & while increasing funding to those homes.
• Removed land taxes from registered care homes.
• Instituted a Charter of Rights and Responsibilities for seniors.
• Expanded home health and seniors care benefit under FutureCare & HIP to provide additional income to families while reducing costs to our healthcare system.
• Created the National Drug Formulary to set maximum prices for common prescriptions to reduce costs to consumers.
• Formed the Ageing Well Committee to drive forward policies and laws that will ensure that the issues of our seniors are always front and centre.
• Implemented local radiation therapy coverage for HIP and FutureCare.

The OBA’s sudden change of heart is nothing more than political posturing on the eve of a by-election. If they truly cared about seniors, they would have demonstrated it when they had the power to make a difference.

The PLP is proud of its record on seniors, and the recently announced $25 Million investment package will provide additional assistance to our seniors in need of a helping hand. The choice is clear, there is only one Party in Bermuda with a strong record assisting seniors, the Progressive Labour Party.

- Derrick Burgess

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