Prevention push: free health checks launched for insured BARP members

The Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP), has launched a major preventative healthcare initiative aimed at reversing high rates of chronic disease, with free annual medical assessments now being offered to members covered by health insurance.

The programme, introduced through the association’s partnership with private clinic Urgent Care Barbados, and Beacon Insurance Company Limited, provides fully funded yearly wellness consultations for BARP’s insured members, signalling a shift away from reactive treatment towards early detection and prevention.

Under the agreement, enrolled members will receive a physician-led annual consultation at no cost. Doctors will then order targeted screenings, including tests for blood sugar, cholesterol, kidney function and cancers, based on each patient’s age and risk profile. The arrangement also gives members access to Urgent Care facilities, including its newly opened multidisciplinary hospital, at specially negotiated rates.

The initiative is intended to address longstanding barriers to preventative care, particularly the cost and accessibility of routine medical testing, which health professionals say have contributed to the island’s high burden of non-communicable diseases.

BARP president Marilyn Rice-Bowen told the launch that the organisation’s focus extended beyond retirees to include working people aged 40 and over, many of whom face financial pressures while supporting both children and ageing parents.

“Today is more than launching another programme. It is about changing the way we think about health,” Rice-Bowen said. “For many years, healthcare has often been reactive. We wait until something goes wrong before seeking medical attention. Our message today is clear. Don’t wait for illness to tell you it has arrived. Find it before it finds you.”

She urged members to take advantage of the screenings, warning that illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease often develop without obvious symptoms.

“Prevention is not simply good medicine. It is one of the smartest financial decisions any family can make,” she added, while also encouraging non-members to join the association.

Dr Bandele Majeks, Urgent Care managing director, said the programme coincides with the company’s tenth anniversary, marking its evolution from a two-doctor mobile service in 2016 to a full-scale healthcare provider with ambulance services.

He pointed to what he described as alarming national health trends, noting that more than two in three adults are overweight, one in six have diabetes, and four in ten are living with hypertension — conditions that are major contributors to cardiovascular disease and kidney failure.

“We are living longer than any generation before us, yet too many of those additional years are lived in poor health,” Dr Majeks said. “A great deal of expense is incurred on conditions that could have and should have been identified years earlier through one inexpensive test. This programme is designed to change that trajectory. Our purpose is straightforward. We want Bajans to live longer and to live those longer years well.”

Christopher Woodhams, chief executive of Beacon Insurance Company Limited, said the partnership reflects a shift in the insurance industry away from covering illness after it occurs, towards preventing it.

Data highlighted a gap in accessible healthcare among people aged 40 to 59, he said, arguing that early intervention and the treatment of minor conditions outside of hospital emergency departments would help maintain the long-term sustainability of health plans.

“At Beacon, we believe the future of healthcare is about helping people stay healthier for longer,” Woodhams said. “When appropriate care is delivered in the right setting and at the right time, everyone benefits. Members receive faster treatment, healthcare resources are used more efficiently, and health plans become more sustainable.”

The three organisations touted the initiative as a model for the national healthcare system, combining preventative care, modern clinical services and insurance support in an effort to improve health outcomes.

(RR)