Still no consensus on health status reporting for lawmakers

Five years after he promised to end the culture of privacy about the health status of elected representatives by releasing his own health records, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has not honoured the commitment he made as opposition leader.

Neither has any mechanism been established for individuals wishing to do so, to make those disclosures.

Now speculation is rife about the health status of many both mental and physical on the heels of the recent disclosure to the Supreme Court that former prime minister Portia Simpson Miller was unable to testify in the Trafigura Court case in February because of an unnamed illness. It came before news broke three weeks ago that Governor General Sir Patrick Allen was taken to hospital but no disclosures have been made since. At least one current legislator is rumoured to have a devastating recent diagnosis.

Businessman Howard Mitchell believes it should be mandatory for some.

“I think yes (that health declarations should be made) but only for those who hold constitutional positions. Those include the prime minister, leader of Opposition, the speaker of the House and president of the Senate,” Mitchell told The Gleaner.

He is concerned that there is still no move to establish any mechanisms for this to become effective, despite a model and requirement in the private sector. According to him, it may not be necessary for other members to disclose as their roles are largely inconsequential. Their biggest contribution is being part of a committee or being asked to vote on an issue.

“Many don’t even read laws they pass,” he argued.

Since Holness’ declaration in 2016, former opposition leader Dr Peter Phillips has relinquished the post but remains a member of parliament. He disclosed that he was battling stage-three colon cancer. Shahine Robinson, the former minister of labour and social security, died in office from cancer in May 2020. The diagnosis was never publicly disclosed and also never denied. While tributes were being paid in Parliament, articles researched showed that cancer was not mentioned as the cause of death.

Also retired MP Robert Pickersgill did not seek re-election in the 2020 general election as a result of several back surgeries which impacted his mobility.

Currently, Minister of Transportation and Mining Audley Shaw is yet to recover his voice, the end result of treatment from an unspecified diagnosis.

Unlike the private sector, there is no obligation for disclosures of elected representatives. In the private sector, medicals are mandatory for senior positions.

Political scientist and attorney-at-law Dr Paul Ashley said there should be a requirement, especially if individuals have health insurance being paid for by taxpayers.

“I believe that some elements of a diagnosis may need to be private like their HIV status. But serious diagnoses such as cancer or anything that will cause them not to function should be disclosed. Nobody goes around announcing that I have HIV unless there is a commercial for voluntary public education purposes,” he told The Gleaner.

According to him, “This matter is all about integrity. I believe that any individual who finds that he or she becomes so afflicted that the discharge of their duties become impaired, should inform their respective leaders,” Ashley said.

He is not hopeful, however, as “with the short supply of integrity we have don’t expect any voluntary reporting”.

Opposition Senator Donna Scott-Mottley expressed discomfort on the matter.

“I am personally uncomfortable with any requirement for parliamentarians to disclose their health status. There are some things which should remain private and this is one such,” she said.

“If a prime minister, however, is seriously ill that is a different matter, especially if such an illness could impact his or her capacity to lead,” she argued, suggesting that otherwise the issue was a private one.

PERSONAL BUSINESS

Current Opposition Leader Mark Golding said then, that an individual’s medical condition is their personal business. He argued that moral suasion should be required of individuals instead of being compelled by some law.

He maintains that position.

Ashley said if taxpayers were paying for the health insurance of parliamentarians they ought to be informed of any maladies affecting them.

Former information minister Sandrea Falconer said during her time as part of the Cabinet, all ministers were provided with insurance through Parliament. Health insurance coverage extends to all members of the Lower House and to senators who are ministers, MP for Kingston Eastern and Port Royal Phillip Paulwell said. MP Julian Robinson said the insurance provided was not mandatory to the representatives. If chosen, the MPs fund the payment from their salaries.

Some health insurance requires various tests to be done. Results may cause an individual to be a “rated” client resulting in higher premiums. Conditions would be disclosed to the insurance companies, but the company reserved the right to deny coverage for certain conditions.

One political commentator who asked for anonymity said, “Physical illnesses one can see. But I believe if there was a mental health requirement you wouldn’t have a quorum.”

In the United States, every sitting president is required to complete an annual medical and the results released to the public. Holness’ promise would be a first in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

“There is no requirement in Barbados for MPs to disclose their health status and I am not aware of any such requirement in any Caribbean territory,” said Dr David Comissiong, Barbados’ ambassador to the Caribbean Community.

When Holness made the announcement, then member of parliament Leslie Campbell said since taxpayers are the employers of government officials, they should be privy to such information. According to him, such a declaration was telling the voting population that they were electing someone fit enough for the job. Also Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, at the time, said she does not believe anyone should be excluded, especially the prime minister and leader of opposition.

Sitting MP for St Catherine South, Fitz Jackson, said then that it was not unreasonable for the electorate to have such information.

He told The Gleaner last Saturday that, “I have always maintained that elected representatives should declare their health fitness publicly on some specified periodical basis. I don’t know if the prime minister supports this and if so since when.”

Illness forced former national security minister Derrick Smith to leave representational politics, as did cancer which caused the death of former prime minister Michael Manley.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com