In a Notice to Island Government / BZV Card Holders on page 21 of the Daily Herald of Thursday May 27, 2010 the Pharmacy Association of Sint Maarten announced that they stop accepting BZV / Island Government Cards as form of payment as of Tuesday June 1st 2010.
OBLIGATION OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS
Although we understand the administrative and financial difficulties of the Pharmacies because of backlog in payments of the BZV / Island Government, we as unions representing the civil servants of Sint Maarten, and all the taxpaying workers of Sint Maarten, are of the opinion that such an announcement and such an action of health care providers is in violation of international human rights treaties signed and ratified by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and which have to be respected by all citizens and businesses in Sint Maarten as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Refusing BZV-card holders their medication on prescription, in this case refusing active civil servants and/or their family members and refusing poor senior citizens and other poor people with a PP-card, is a violation of the right to the highest attainable level of health care and a violation of the obligation of health care providers to provide the prescribed medication without discrimination and without any delay.
EMOTIONAL AND FINANCIAL ABUSE
Announcing and implementing the refusal to accept BZV-card holders their prescribed medication is a form of "emotional abuse". Refusing the BZV-card and requesting from the BZV card holder to pay cash, cash money that was not budgeted at all for the purpose to get prescribed medication, is a form of "financial abuse". The civil servants already have paid their premium, which has been deducted from their salaries every month to pay for their health care and their medication. All workers of Sint Maarten have already paid for the PP-card holders to get their medical care and medication by paying the wage tax deducted from their salaries every month.
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATIVE DISPUTES HAVE TO BE SETTLED TO MEDIATION OR IN COURT
Although the president of the Pharmacies Association of Sint Maarten in a meeting with the representative of the ABVO Council of Pensioners and in a written statement to the same has apologized for the emotional abuse caused to innocent FZOG card holders and their family members, and although the President of the PAS promised to seek solutions for their financial and administrative disputes through mediation or judicial ways, the PAS once again made use of this abusive method against innocent BZV cardholders who have nothing to do with their financial and administrative dispute with the BZV / Island Government of Sint Maarten.
REPORT THE ABUSE!
The civil servants unions of Sint Maarten therefore have taken the initiative as of Tuesday June 1st 2010 to assist any BZV-card holder who is being abused emotionally by any health care provider who refuses to give his/her prescribed medication because of his/her BZV-card. All BZV-cardholders who are being asked to pay cash to get their prescribed medication, and who consequently are financially being abused and discriminated, are being requested to report this abuse immediately at the WICSU/PSU office where we can start the process to defend your rights.
WICSU/WITU
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WITU
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ABVO-SXM
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ABVO-Council of Pensioners