(CMR) Doctor’s Hospital (“DH”) in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, announced they are seeking a judicial review of the vast unilateral concessions made by the government to Health City and Aster Cayman MedCity. According to DH, these concessions unfairly distort competition between healthcare providers on the Cayman Islands, and could ultimately compromise the quality of healthcare available.
DH challenges the fairness of the ongoing grant of financial concessions to Narayana Hrudayalaya Private Limited (“NHP”) by the Government of the Cayman Islands (“CIG”) for the current Health City development. Also, granting vast financial concessions to DM Healthcare (“DM”) for the Aster Cayman MedCity development, and the proposed financial concessions to NHP for the proposed development at Camana Bay is concerning.
CIG recently announced NHP will develop a new hospital at Camana Bay. The Premier reportedly stated, “concessions and duty waivers already in place for Health City would apply to the new facility”.
Concerning Aster Cayman Medcity, the Premier reportedly said DM would “not have to pay duty on medical equipment or supplies for 25 years after the commencement of construction of phase 1,” and an agreement to that effect would be executed that day (Cayman Compass, 21 December 2020).
DH acknowledges CIG’s intention to attract foreign investment to the Cayman Islands and welcomes it. However, DH firmly believes fair competition and a level playing field for all healthcare providers serve the best interests of all, especially the general public. CIG’s plans represent a blatant violation of several universal rules of the competition and fair law-making. Therefore, DH issued a pre-action letter to CIG on Monday, 8 March 2021, to which CIG has not substantively responded.
“We believe in fair and competitive marketplaces. Eliminating the gap between healthcare providers in Cayman is more important than ever. No market should be subjected to anticompetitive, monopolistic, or dominating behaviour. The power held by these companies affects the Cayman economy, our democracy, and ultimately the health and well-being of our citizens. It is especially unfortunate for the many local-owned businesses who have been contributing to the country for years, shaping our community to what it is today,”
says Dr. Yaron Rado, Board Chairman and Chief Radiologist, Doctors Hospital.
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