Opposition Leader looks to 1990’s for pension/health care fix

Opposition Leader Ezzard Miller agrees with Premier Alden McLaughlin’s assertion that pensions and health care are failing Cayman. Mr. Miller said to find the fix to these issues, one can look no further than 1992.

Mr. Miller told Cayman 27 said an idea he first championed in the early 90’s could be the fix for pension and health care schemes Premier Alden McLaughlin criticized last week in finance committee as failing Cayman.

“In 1992 I passed single payer pension plan, at great opposition of the Chamber of Commerce,” said Mr. Miller.

Mr. Miller said that legislation was quickly repealed by the National Team government.

“The plan that I passed in 1992, simply gave you like a us social security number when you got 18, don’t care who you work for, that was the number that was paid into your pension plan. You could track it personally, using the same plan for your whole life,” said Mr. Miller.

He said his health insurance plan, also passed in 1992, met the same fate.

“When we did the health insurance in 1992 the plan was that your health insurance would become a retirement benefit, if you were retiring from a private sector company, part of your retirement would be that you would stay in the plan, so that the young people would share the cost of your healthcare,” said Mr. Miller.

He said that’s in great contrast to the problems seen today.

“What is happening now is that the private sector doesn’t insure you once you get to 60 or 65, so you have to become a ward of the government,” he said.

He told Cayman 27 going forward, there must be a defined benefit.

“You should know what your getting,” he said.

Mr. Miller said his opposition team plans to continue its focus on health care and pensions issues in the new year.