News
Premier Lays Out Cost of Hospital Dispute
Misick details legal losses, mounting healthcare costs and Government’s plan to move beyond the InterHealth concession
By Deandrea Hamilton | Editor
Speaking during the House of Assembly on Friday, July 31, Premier Washington Misick delivered what he described as a “full and frank account” of the Government’s long-running dispute with InterHealth Canada, revealing that litigation surrounding the hospital concession has already cost the Turks and Caicos Islands approximately $39.7 million and confirming that another arbitration remains before the tribunal.
“The people deserve honesty,” Misick told the House. “They deserve to understand how we arrived at this moment and what it has cost them
and what this Government is doing about it.”
The Premier said he intends to table a detailed paper outlining the history of the hospital agreement, the financial figures and the legal decisions that have shaped the dispute.
“I think we owe it to the public to be transparent at all times,” he said. “At the end of the day, they are the ones who are paying for these things.”
Misick stressed that the hospitals themselves have transformed healthcare in the Turks and Caicos Islands, but argued the concession agreement underpinning them has proven financially and legally unsustainable.
“The hospitals themselves are an asset. The contract on which they operate has become unsustainable.”
Tracing the agreement back to 2008, the Premier said findings by the Commission of Inquiry highlighted the absence of a competitive tender process and identified conflicts of interest that, he argued, contributed to the structural weaknesses of the contract.
“I do not rehearse this history to apportion blame across party lines,” Misick said. “I raise it because the House and the public must understand the nature of the problem we inherited and why the structural flaws embedded in this agreement from the very beginning have proven so difficult and so costly to resolve.”
He explained that the concession created separate responsibilities for infrastructure management and clinical services, making accountability difficult to enforce, while the payment model reimbursed costs plus a guaranteed profit.
“This is not a sustainable model for any healthcare system,” he said.
The Premier also disclosed the scale of healthcare spending, stating that public healthcare cost the country $828 million between 2016 and 2025, representing 32 percent of Government expenditure and 8.1 percent of national GDP.
He then outlined the cost of the first international arbitration, saying Government was ordered to pay $18.5 million in principal and interest, $8.2 million toward the company’s legal costs, in addition to arbitration expenses and the Government’s own legal fees.
“The total cost of the territory from the first arbitration alone was approximately $39.7 million,” Misick said. “I want this
House to sit with that figure for a moment. Eight percent of our annual budget consumed—not by schools, not by roads, not by housing—but by the cost of resolving a dispute with a private contractor.”
Turning to the second arbitration, the Premier said the tribunal ruled that Government must pay $9.3 million in outstanding invoices, while the substantive arbitration over maintenance, performance and Government’s counterclaims continues.
“In plain terms, the contract requires the Government to pay first and dispute later,” Misick said. He added that the ruling “does not mean the arbitration is over” and “does not mean that the Government’s position on performance has been found without merit.”
Despite the legal setbacks, the Premier maintained that Government remains committed to bringing the concession to an orderly conclusion.
“Over the coming months, we will resolve the concession. We will reclaim the hospitals and build a healthier system worthy of the trust that people place in it,” he said.
While Misick did not elaborate on what “resolving the concession” will involve, he said the objective is to replace what he described as an unsustainable arrangement with a healthcare system that is “publicly accountable, financially sound and built on a foundation that will last.”
Editor’s Note: This report is based on Premier Washington Misick’s statement to the House of Assembly on Friday, July 31, 2026. The Government has indicated that a supporting paper detailing the history, financial figures and legal decisions surrounding the hospital concession will be tabled in the House of Assembly.
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos Islands: — Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort recently collaborated with the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force and the Department of Social Services to support a youth camp hosted at the Oseta Jolly Primary School, underscoring the resort’s ongoing commitment to youth development in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The camp, which brought together security forces, government agencies and private sector entities, focused on equipping young participants
with practical life skills and character-building tools. A team from Beaches Turks and Caicos’ leadership and training departments joined the programme to deliver sessions on basic table etiquette, dining mannerisms, polite demeanour and public speaking fundamentals, all designed to help the students present themselves confidently in formal and professional settings.
General Manager of Beaches Turks and Caicos, Deryk Meany, said the resort views national development as an integral part of its corporate social responsibility. “We are always happy to be supporters in the development of the youth of the Turks and Caicos Islands. We continue to commit our team to help in creating the next generation of leaders who will provide support to the islands and help in its development,” Meany noted.
The initiative also received strong endorsement from the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Community Development, which has been championing holistic programmes aimed at building well-rounded young citizens. Minister Rachel Taylor highlighted the importance of collaborations like the camp in helping youth access structured guidance and mentorship. “We are happy to join in celebrating the growth and development of our youth here in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Beaches Turks and Caicos continues to be one of our primary supporters in helping to develop well rounded individuals. This commitment from this resort has grown with the vision of the youth ministry to help in their overall development,” she said.
Taylor further emphasized that the camp’s timing was especially significant, coming as youth across the islands seek positive outlets and
constructive engagement. “This camp came at the most ideal time for our adolescents. With the support of our governor, the security forces, the social services along with Beaches Turks and Caicos, we are confident that the training needed for them to improve is on the right track,” she added.
Beaches Turks and Caicos Public Relations Manager, Orville Morgan, described the collaboration as an exemplary model of cross-sector partnership. “To be able to join with the security forces to provide support for the youth of the Turks and Caicos Islands is exceptional. We are happy to provide the necessary support to equip them to grow into being productive citizens of these islands,” Morgan said.
He noted that the resort team focused on practical etiquette and hospitality-driven skills that can be carried into the youths’ future experiences. “As a team, we were able to share in the basic table setting and dining etiquette for them, skills we are sure that they will be able to use in their next fine dining experience,” Morgan added.
Organizers expressed optimism that the camp’s blend of discipline, mentorship and soft skills training will have a lasting impact on participants. With stakeholders pledging continued support, the Beaches Turks and Caicos team and their partners aim to expand similar initiatives, further investing in the personal and professional growth of the next generation of Turks and Caicos Islanders.
TCIG knew from April that fuel factor could surge almost 80%; Minister says $500 cost-of-living payment was part of Government’s response
PROVIDENCIALES — The Turks and Caicos Government knew months before July’s shocking electricity bills that consumers faced a potentially massive increase in the fuel factor.
Minister of Information Technology and Energy E. Jay Saunders revealed Friday that Pelican Energy warned his Ministry in April that generation fuel costs were projected to rise from $3.09 per gallon in May to $4.79 in June and July.
That translated into a projected fuel factor jump from about 17.5 cents to 31 cents per kilowatt-hour — an increase of almost 80%.
Saunders said he personally advised Cabinet of the projected increase and presented options for cushioning the impact.
He characterised Government’s $500 cost-of-living payment as its “initial response” to rising fuel costs, before a separate fuel-factor subsidy was approved.
Cabinet records show Government agreed on June 24 to provide funding to mitigate the fuel-factor impact, with the relief programme approved July 8.
Eligible residential customers — those averaging less than $1,500 monthly over the previous three bills — are capped at 22 cents per kWh from July through October.
Pelican confirmed Friday that Government’s contribution was already applied to July bills, meaning the bills now triggering widespread public outrage would have been even higher without the subsidy.
Saunders did not disclose the programme’s total cost.
His admission that Government knew since April, however, raises another question amid the backlash: why were consumers not directly warned by Government about the scale of the approaching increase?
NASSAU, Bahamas — More Bahamians are accessing HIV and sexually transmitted infection-related healthcare through National Health Insurance, a trend the NHI Authority says should be viewed positively.
NHIA stressed in an August 6 statement that its 2025 figures measure healthcare utilisation, not newly diagnosed infections. They include beneficiaries screened, treated, monitored or receiving follow-up care, including people diagnosed previously.
“Increased utilisation of these services should be viewed as a positive development,” NHIA said.
The Authority pointed to “greater enrolment and use of NHI, improved access to screening and testing, continued treatment and monitoring of existing conditions, and increased willingness to seek medical care.”
The development comes amid a mixed three-year HIV picture. New diagnoses rose from 130 in 2023 to 156 in 2024, before declining to 142 in 2025.
NHIA said increased utilisation demonstrates that more beneficiaries are accessing needed healthcare and actively managing their health, reinforcing the importance of screening, early diagnosis and continued treatment.
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