FAQs

The Health Council is comprised of a Board (4 ex-officio members and up to 11 Minister-appointed ordinary members) and a Secretariat.  The Board is tasked with high-level oversight of the Health Council functions and operations.  The Secretariat is responsible for executing the day-to-day functions and operations of the Council.

Visit our Board Members & Secretariat page for more information.

The Health Council is a Quansi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organization (QUANGO) with an expansive mandate including, but not limited to, identify and publish goals for the health system, make recommendations to the Minister, conduct research and share health system analyses with the public.

Visit our About Us page for additional information.

Complaints or queries may be submitted through our website, via email to contactus@healthcouncil.bm, or by phone at 292-6420. The Health Council’s office hours are Monday – Friday between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.

The mandate of the Health Council is to regulate, coordinate and enhance the delivery of health services.

The Chronic Disease Innovation Programme offers support for innovative solutions to address Bermuda’s high rates of non-communicable chronic diseases and associated disabilities.

Visit our Innovation Programme page for more information.

In order to be eligible to apply for funding from the Innovation Programme, an applicant’s interests must be consistent with the goals of the programme, aligned with the invitation for proposals, and the initiative must be implemented within the country of Bermuda.

Visit our Innovation Programme page for more information.

Employer compliance refers to an employer’s legal obligation to provide employees with health insurance coverage, as outlined in the Health Insurance Act 1970 and its regulations.

Learn more about Employer Compliance, here.

If you provide us with your name, email address, phone number and name of your employer, we will check the current status of your health insurance coverage and get back to you as soon as possible. We can be reached at employercompliance@healthcouncil.bm or at contactus@healthcouncil.bm.

Learn more about Employer Compliance, here.

If you are deducted for health insurance coverage but your employer never actually pays your health insurance premium, you are entitled to reimbursement for those unlawful deductions. We can assist by notifying your employer of their obligation to reimburse you for unlawful deductions.

If you do not wish for us to investigate your employer on your behalf, we recommend you calculate the total unlawful deductions, submit a written request to your employer for reimbursement of those deductions and document all correspondence between you and your employer about the matter.

Even if you wish to pursue the matter on your own, we are available if you need further guidance.

You should note that in many cases, we can investigate an employer without mentioning an employee’s name.

Learn more about Employer Compliance, here.

Any employee who works 15 hours or more per week and two months or more per year must be provided with health insurance. Learn more about Employer Compliance, here.

Employers must provide employees with basic coverage through a local, licensed health insurer. Health care providers are unable to accept overseas insurance. Learn more about Employer Compliance, here.

Employers must provide coverage for their employees and non-employed spouses only. Employers are not required to provide coverage for children or dependent parents. Learn more about Employer Compliance, here.

The secondary employer has no responsibility to provide additional coverage. It is the responsibility of the primary employer, only. The secondary employer should have a legal contract stating that the employee must notify them if the employee is no longer insured by the primary employer. Learn more about Employer Compliance, here.

Your employer is responsible for any medical bills incurred during periods of non-coverage. Provide your employer with copies of medical bills and request in writing for them to pay the bills. The Health Council is happy to assist if necessary. Learn more about Employer Compliance, here.

Registration Fees are due upon submission of the registration application.  There are currently two registration platforms and depending on your profession, you will be prompted to make payment during submission of your application. For details about your specific profession, check the Registration Checklist or Registration Guidelines under “Statutory Bodies Registration Information” on our Professional Registration page, here.

Registration renewals vary across statutory bodies. For information about your registration renewal deadline, please check your most recently issued registration certificate.  Alternatively, please contact the Health Council’s Registrations & Licensing Team via email at professions@healthcouncil.bm, or by phone at 292-6420.  The Health Council’s office hours are Monday – Friday between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.

Currently, the legislative fees for health professions that are regulated by the Health Council are as follows:

We are currently register the following health professionals:

Addictions Counsellors

Dieticians

Physiotherapist

Diagnostic Imaging Technologists

Occupational Therapists

Speech Language Pathologists

Emergency Medical Service Providers

Medical Laboratory Technologists

Chiropodists/Podiatrists

Dental Practitioners

Dental Hygienist

Dental Technicians

Pharmacists

Psychologists

Optometrists

Opticians

The Health Council maintains the register of health professionals for all five regulated professions we are the Registrar for. The register can be viewed on our Professional Registration page, here.

For register queries, contact the Health Council via email at professions@healthcouncil.bm, or by phone at 292-6420. The Health Council’s office hours are Monday – Friday between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.

If the overseas practitioner is a Psychologist, please email the Bermuda Psychologists Council at professions@healthcouncil.bm for further guidance or refer to Bermuda Psychologists Council FAQ | Government of Bermuda (www.gov.bm). Otherwise, there are no laws or regulations pertaining to the provision of mental health telehealth services to individuals in Bermuda by overseas practitioners. If the mental health practitioner is licensed, they should refer to the regulations in their licensure jurisdiction regarding the provision of telehealth services to individuals outside of the jurisdiction.

Home care providers (caregivers) can register or renew registration with the Health Council using our online registration platform, here.

Registration certificates are automatically generated by the registration platform once your application has been approved for registration.  The generated certificate will be emailed to the email address that you use to sign up and log into the registration platform.

Completed applications will be reviewed and approved within 7 business days.  If you have any questions about the status of your application, please email professions@healthcouncil.bm or call 441-292-6420.

If you would like to submit a new complaint or update a previously submitted complaint, please submit your request in writing to professions@healthcouncil.bm.

The term “upfront payment” refers to the requirement for insured patients to pay 100% of a healthcare bill at the time of receiving services despite a portion of the bill being eligible for coverage under patient’s health insurance policy. The potential consequence is some insured persons avoid seeking care or experience family cash flow problems when they have to pay for healthcare “upfront”.

There is no legal requirement for claims to be submitted electronically, however the Claims Regulations encourages it as a standard. Electronic claims are more efficient and result in faster processing and payment. Health providers are encouraged to liaise with insurers to test their electronic claims systems for compatibility. All electronic claims should be submitted in the ANSI-837 format. We recommend using a Health Council-approved health insurance claims form.

Some health service providers have been granted an exemption from the regulations and are able to charge patients upfront for the full-service cost. These are usually small businesses that are unregulated or do not have the infrastructure to generate and submit claims. Please contact the Health Council to inquire about specific exemptions.

You should advise the Bermuda Health Council and provide details of the service you received and your insurance plan. Ideally ask the provider to make the request in writing or pay the bill if you can and keep the receipt as proof of the upfront payment. Patients are also advised to inquire about the cost of services prior to receiving them and confirm how much is covered by your insurer.

If you wish to submit a complaint related to professional conduct, these should be directed to the relevant statutory body.  The contact information for each statutory body can be found on our website.

All other complaints and queries can be submitted to the Health Council email contactus@healthcouncil.bm or telephone 292-6420.

A patient has a right to request and be given a copy of their health records and providers should not withhold this information because of money owed. There are some providers that charge to send records from one service provider to another but again, this should not impact the patient’s ability to get a copy of the information. See the Medical Practitioners’ Standards of Practice for more formation.

Maternity coverage for services included under Standard Health Benefit (SHB) is effective from the first start date of employment which should also be the same as the first date of insurance coverage in general. Maternity benefits under SHB is typically 2nd and 3rd trimester ultrasounds at the hospital or an approved facility outside of the hospital, and any blood tests performed in the hospital and the hospital charges for the delivery. Any private practice fees for the care (pre-natal and delivery) are not included under SHB and therefore are not required to be covered by insurance from the first date of employment. Check with your insurers for the period of employment required for your policy to cover these supplemental services.

There are no laws or regulations pertaining to the provision of telehealth services to individuals in Bermuda by overseas practitioners. If the practitioner is registered or licensed by a regulatory authority, they should refer to the regulations in their licensure jurisdiction regarding the provision of telehealth services to individuals outside of the jurisdiction.

Approved providers of SHB and MRF services are prohibited from charging beyond the regulated reimbursement rate levels for these services. Regulated rates can be found here.

The types of services, reimbursement rates for the SHB and MRF benefits, and the SPR are set by the Minister of Health following an annual review to ensure healthcare market sustainability, inclusion of feedback from stakeholders, affordability of services, and diversity of benefits that can support the health of individuals. Actuarial Reports provide a summary of part of this review process; they can be viewed here.

Each month, every insured person pays a health insurance premium to their health insurance provider.  That premium is comprised of two parts: (1) the SPR and (2) the premium for supplemental (non-SHB/MRF) benefits.  More information about these two sets of coverage can be found here.