CINICO to seek wider views on how it’s doing
(CNS): CINICO will begin an online anonymous survey among its member ship this month which officials say will give the government owned health insurance provider an idea of satisfaction levels among the membership. This is the second phase of a planned programme following the first phase of research work which was conducted with focus groups. The online survey is expected to gauge the thoughts and opinions of the wider civil service, statutory body employees and pensioners among the CINICO membership when they answer a more detailed the research is being undertaken by Tower Marketing CINICO DEO Lonny Tibbetts said the online survey will allow members the opportunity to have their voices heard.
“We at CINICO anticipate that the responses will provide us with a valuable insight into how we can improve and streamline our organisation to ensure that our members get the best possible service,” he said. He assured members that the survey is completely confidential and eligible CINICO members must use their member ID on their CarePay swipe cards to access the survey.
Neither CINICO, nor Tower Marketing will know who the survey belongs to, as all data collection and analysis is being conducted off-island by Tower Marketing’s independent market research partner. This research is completely independent of CINICO or any part of the Cayman Islands Civil Service or the Cayman Islands Government.
“We urge every eligible CINICO member to complete the study,” Tibbetts said. “The higher the volume of responses, the more accurate the information. This will eventually lead to a better level of service for all members, which, of course, is our ultimate goal.”
The survey will be distributed via email to all civil servants who can complete it in the office or at home. In order to give all members the opportunity to take this survey, Tower Marketing will also be setting up a computer kiosk at various government locations from 22 May – 6 June.
Staff members will be on hand to assist if there are any questions, as well as pass out paper copies, if needed. There will also be opportunities at public libraries to complete the survey online using the computer stations available (visit the library information desk for details).
As an added incentive to complete the survey, two free iPads will be given away to the lucky winners drawn from all entrants. To view the schedule of various locations to complete the survey, visit www.cinico.ky for more details.
Category: Health
Want to know how CINICO is doing? Well I’ll give you my experience…I got preapproval to see a private doctor for my condition because I had previously seen the hospital’s doctor which the hospital employs on a part-time basis – this doctor doesn’t even specialise in the area of concern (a one off certificate is NOT specilization) – only to have CINICO refuse to pay my PREAPPROVED visit to the private doctor. I have heard from other CINICO card holders and my private doctors office that getting PREAPPROVAL is NO GUARENTEE of payment. <-- THIS is one reason why CINICO will continue to fail and another reason that govt employees shouldn't be FORCED to have "coverage" with CINICO. Don't get me wrong, CINICO is great under life threatening emergency situations, but that's it.
Improving the CINICO services is not necessarily what all civil servants want. Rather, many would love more than anything else in the world, government's noninvolvement with their insurance health plan. Some would rather seek and provide it through direct payment to the doctor for services rendered.
That is why I say when it comes to insurance in general, there should always be a government waiver policy for citizens, giving them the option to opt-out from an insurance plan if they choose to and are willing to hold sole accountability for the decision of opting out should any thing go wrong. Likewise, with vehicle insurance: If you drive a car and don’t want to pay insurance, you should sign a legal disclaimer stating you will take full responsibility and compensation liable to prosecution and imprisonment. Very simple, and I know the insurance companies will not like it.
As with pension, many civil servants don't want deductions from their salaries. Why force people to pay pension that you know some day the government may just end up taking it away from you? Again, there should always be a disclaimer, giving civil servants the option as to whether they want to be on the plan or not. That is the fair and democratic way of dealing with people’s money. Why not give them the option to opt-out so they are responsible for their own life-savings?
In a free health care system where people can freely choose to get themselves on insurance, would indeed reduce the cost of most health care enormously on the island. Costs are as high as they are now entirely because of the deep pockets of insurance companies and the government.
A return to a simpler pay / save for yourself system would inevitably lead to routine expenses coming down enormously in cost.
Many civil servants and pensioners pay fortheir own private health insurance because of the limitations of CINICO. If the government was smart they would encourage such people by contributing to their private insurance payments and use CINICO only to offset the 20% costs not covered by the private insurer. This would be similar to the AARP situation in the US and would save our government a ton of money!
Excellent idea! This would ensure that civil servants, pensioners et al receive 100% health care coverage while allowing those who can afford it to contribute to the costs. I am also aware of many civil servants who pay steep prices for private insurance for them and their families. It is already happening so, yes, the government should capitalise on this! Those now paying private insurance fees will welcome a contribution by government to those costs and the government could then reduce its payments into CINICO for 100% coverage to only 20%. People would be covered and insurance companies would be paying some of the huge medical bills this country is faced with. However, this would be a means of saving money for the government so they wouldn't be interested I'm sure.
Great suggestion! Now lets see what excuses they will come up with to not take it on board!
Very true 19:16. there is a lot wrong with the CINICO system, first the front desk area need to be more understanding with people that are confused with the system.No one seems to want to help you and its your fault that its screwed up.
I hope some day to see a better system , when you are over 70 and pay for your policy you are treated like a beggar, try getting a refferal in time to see a specialist or just another doctor other than the hospital where you have not been getting results to your problem.You go to the docs at the clinic, or hospital for years and no results , then you take it upon your self to go else where and find out its not what they were treating you for, this sucks. Cant wait to have it rectified.