Topic: Public Accounts Committee
HSA hiring debt collector to go after $58M from patients
The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority plans to hire a debt collector to go after $58 million in past-due accounts from patients. The debts range from those a couple of months old to some more than three years old, the latter involving some $32 million that has not been paid.
Public hospital gets approval to write off millions in debt
The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority has been trying to claim unpaid healthcare bills that are “uncollectable,” including from some former patients who have died, the authority’s board chairman confirmed during a government committee hearing last week.
Government $1.2 billion healthcare liability figure may be low
The Cayman Islands government’s $1.18 billion figure for estimated healthcare liabilities due over the next two decades may be a bit low.
HSA promises ‘clean accounts’ by 2018
The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority has pledged to report “clean” financial statements by 2018, after receiving a tongue-lashing from Public Accounts Committee Chairman Ezzard Miller this week.
Government says it won’t get into ‘medical tourism’
Although it has been granted the legal designation to participate in “medical tourism,” the government has no intention of going into that business, public health officials said Wednesday.
HSA will sue to recover debts
The Cayman Islands public hospital system will begin suing patients or businesses that owe healthcare debts, the agency’s chief executive told lawmakers Wednesday.
EDITORIAL – When showing up isn’t optional
When PAC Chairman Ezzard Miller insists that witnesses show up when invited to appear before his legislative committee, he is absolutely right.
Warning over PAC ‘disrespect’
The chairman of Cayman Airways board of directors, Philip Rankin, was threatened last week with an official summons to appear before the Public Accounts Committee, as Chairman Ezzard Miller signaled his intention to get tough with reluctant witnesses.
Cayman Airways board members fly for free
Around 100 former Cayman Airways board members and their dependents were awarded unlimited free flights for life as compensation for their services, Chief Financial Officer Paul Tibbetts told a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee.
UK gov’t proposes heavy fines for tax avoidance enablers
The U.K. government is planning to impose large fines for service providers and consultants who advise clients on how to avoid tax with schemes that are found to be unlawful.
Public Accounts Committee: Needs Assessment Unit requires ‘major overhaul’
The Needs Assessment Unit, tasked with managing a number of social assistance programs, needs a “major overhaul,” according to the legislature’s Public Accounts Committee.
Minister: Hundreds on assistance waiting list
About 340 applications seeking permanent financial assistance are pending assessment by the government’s needs assessment unit, Community Affairs Minister Osbourne Bodden said Wednesday.
5,000 work permit categories ‘must simplify’
A work permit processing system at the Cayman Islands Immigration Department that includes about 5,000 different job categories must be clarified, according to civil service managers who confirmed last week that even immigration employees are baffled by it.
2,500 Cayman families getting social welfare assistance
The Needs Assessment Unit is significantly under-resourced and lacks the necessary manpower and legislation to help move people from welfare to work, according to its director Tamara Hurlston.
Lawmakers told caucus makes government land sale decisions
An initial decision on which Cayman Islands government “surplus” properties would be put up for sale was made by the Progressives-led administration’s political caucus, a senior civil servant told lawmakers last week.
Auditors’ concerns remain about NRA deal
The Cayman Islands government may still be acting “without proper authority” during the renegotiation process for a major land development agreement, officials with the Auditor General’s Office said last week.
Planning authority chairman agrees in principle to open meetings
Central Planning Authority Chairman A. L. Thompson, responding to criticisms from a 2015 auditor general’s report on land use planning, said he would not oppose opening planning meetings to the public and even televising the proceedings.
Governor: Audit reports must not face ‘long delay’
Cayman Islands Governor Helen Kilpatrick has backed the prompt release of independent government audits once those are completed, following recent public comments that the process surrounding the release and evaluation of reports from the auditor general’s office may be changed.
Audit report release, review process may be changed
The way independent reports of the Cayman Islands Auditor General’s Office are released to the public and considered by government is under review, the Cayman Compass has learned.
No strategy for welfare payments
The senior official responsible for welfare in the Cayman Islands has acknowledged there is no coordinated strategy for how public money is spent on the island’s most needy.
Manderson: Civil service must resist ministerial pressure
Deputy Governor Franz Manderson has vowed that civil servants who feel pressured or bullied into allowing elected ministers to take the reins of day-to-day...
‘No requirement’ for bills to go to political caucus
A long-awaited effort to reform government’s statutory authorities and companies is expected to go to the Progressives-led government’s political caucus in April, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson said Wednesday.
Marathon public accounts meetings scheduled this week
A total of eight reports completed by the Cayman Islands Auditor General’s office between 2014 and 2015 will be reviewed in the space of three days this week.
