On Thursday afternoon April 15, 2010 a total of 25 pensioners came out to a general meeting called by the ABVO-Council of Pensioners with the support from WICSU/PSU, WITU, ABVO-SXM, WIFOL and UFA, to discuss their issues pending with FZOG and SVB.
Most pensioners complained about pending restitutions. Individual amounts of Naf 3.000 to Naf 150.000 were mentioned. Some retirees were waiting more than four years now on the restitution of their medical costs paid cash which until today were not refunded. Representatives of the ABVO-Council of Pensioners will follow up on these individual claims to speed up the restitutions to the pensioners.
SERVICE COMPLAINTS
All agreed that it takes too much time in getting an answer from FZOG in Curacao on requests for referral to specialists, requests for glasses, etc. When finally you get an approval for further medical treatment although the French side could provide these treatments and is nearby for pensioners on Sint Maarten, decisions of FZOG oblige pensioners to wait to be send to Curacao or Aruba for treatment. And then when sent to Curacao the daily allowance you get to pay the hotel, transportation form the hotel to the doctor or the hospital is too low. You end up to pay from your own savings to cover all the costs incurred, which is not fair compared to pensioners on Curacao who do not have to leave their island for further treatment and who do not have these extra costs and discomfort.
IMPLICATIONS OF DECENTRALIZATION FOR FZOG-CARDHOLDERS ON SINT MAARTEN