Hamilton, Bermuda, 16th March 2026 – The Bermuda Health Council is issuing the following statement in response to recent media inquiries regarding the Council’s mandate, funding structure, and regulatory responsibilities within Bermuda’s health system.

The Bermuda Health Council is a statutory authority whose mandate is to regulate, coordinate, and enhance the delivery of health services in Bermuda. Under the Health Council Act, the Council’s responsibilities include licensing health service providers and insurers, regulating drug prices to the public, maintaining national health registers, collecting and analyzing system data, and advising Government on health system priorities. See attached Board Governance Matrix – 2026.

The Health Council regulates and coordinates a health system representing over $800 million in annual health expenditure, not including significant portions of long-term care and social care services. The Council carries out this work with a relatively small team responsible for licensing, regulatory oversight, system analysis, and health system improvement, and operates with an overall budget representing less than half of one percent of the health system it oversees, with the goal of ensuring safe, fair, and sustainable care for patients.

With respect to funding, the Council’s allocation from the Mutual Reinsurance Fund has not changed since 2021 and will not increase this year. The Council will, however, receive an additional $250,000 Ministry grant to support the IT development of organ transplant registries, portals, and disease registries aimed at improving the coordination of care for patients.

Regarding financial reporting, the Council is currently completing the 2023–24 external audit, and acknowledges that publication is running approximately one year behind schedule. This delay arose following the island-wide cyber incident that affected a number of public systems and audit processes. In the meantime, the Council’s financials continue to be reviewed regularly through detailed reporting to the Board, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Finance, and remain subject to the statutory audit and governance requirements that apply to public authorities. The accounts will be published upon completion of the audit process.

The article also references the administrative allocation associated with the Standard Health Benefit premium. From 2014, the Council received a $1 administrative allocation within that framework. In 2019, the Council also began administering the Innovation Fund, which supported community health initiatives. Following the 2018 transfer of several health service registration functions from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer to the Health Council, the organization began preparing to absorb those additional regulatory responsibilities. In 2021, the operational transfer from the Mutual Reinsurance Fund to support the Council’s regulatory and system oversight responsibilities was updated from $1.00 to $3.06. The total allocations managed by the Health Council have not changed since 2021, and premium levels (including the MRF) themselves are determined through the statutory process involving Government and are not independently set by the Council.

Recent commentary has also referenced pharmaceutical policy decisions and regulatory oversight. The Council is aware that concerns have been raised by a stakeholder regarding certain pharmaceutical policies, including matters related to Ozempic and aspects of the Pharmacy and Poisons Act. Stakeholders have every right to raise concerns about policy decisions. As a regulator, the Council has a responsibility to ensure that pharmaceutical policy decisions balance patient access to medicines, affordability, and the long-term sustainability of the health system. In that context, policy disagreement should not be conflated with allegations regarding the integrity or impartiality of a statutory regulator. The Council’s role is to apply the same regulatory framework consistently across all health system participants while supporting improvements that benefit patients and the wider health system.

With respect to complaints processes, the Council has maintained a formal complaints policy since January 1, 2009, updated in 2022 and further modernized over the past six months as part of broader regulatory improvements. Stakeholders are welcome to submit concerns through the Council’s established feedback channels, and those submissions are reviewed through the appropriate procedures.

More broadly, the role and resourcing of the Health Council has been raised in the House of Assembly on several occasions, where members across parties have noted the wide scope of responsibilities assigned to the organization and the importance of ensuring it has sufficient capacity to fulfil its mandate effectively.

The Council remains committed to transparency, accountability, and constructive engagement with all participants in Bermuda’s health system, with the shared goal of improving care and outcomes for patients.

Media Contact 

Email: media@healthcouncil.bm

Phone: (441) 292-6420

Website: www.healthcouncil.bm

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About Health Council

Established by the Bermuda Health Council Act 2004, the Bermuda Health Council (“Health Council”) is tasked with regulating, coordinating, and enhancing the delivery of health services in Bermuda. Led by a Board representing a broad range of sectors in Bermuda’s community, and staffed by a team of committed professionals, the Health Council works with health system stakeholders towards achieving a quality, equitable and sustainable health system.

For media inquiries, please contact media@healthcouncil.bm.