An Unfolding Healthcare Crisis

An Unfolding Healthcare Crisis

5 November 2026

The healthcare crisis in Curaçao has been going on for decades. And perhaps that is why many people have failed to notice it. But over the past few weeks, the shocks have followed one another in rapid succession.

First, the CMC announced that its budget was insufficient to make it to the end of the year. The new hospital, which was supposed to symbolize innovation in our healthcare system, has become a millstone around its neck. Then nine institutions reported that their subsidies were insufficient.

But it was the general practitioners, who have always dutifully cared for their patients, who took action because they rightly believe that their fees, which date back to 2012, need to be adjusted. The pharmacies then also took action, demanding a review of their fees.

What is bizarre is that, after a long struggle, the income of medical specialists was eventually settled, while everyone seemed to assume that the rest of the healthcare system was doing just fine. And there is another ticking time bomb: the employment conditions of nursing staff.

Meanwhile, the government has taken the general practitioners to court. The judge managed to bring the parties to the negotiating table, and the doctors have (temporarily) suspended their actions.

I cannot escape the feeling that developments such as the cabinet proclaiming that ministers deserve a bonus, a thirteenth month's salary, were the final straw. Meanwhile, the governor has announced that he will not sign off on the bonus arrangement. I also seem to recall reading that the Minister of Finance announced that he had brought in an additional 90 million. Decisions to purchase the old hospital also create the impression that there is money to throw around.

Then I read in the newspaper that the parliamentary meeting on reinstating the Public Health Council could not take place because too few members showed up.

The impression is that you had better not get sick.

And that is not even the whole story. Around the world, young people in particular are protesting against high prices, especially housing costs. This discontent is also manifesting itself here. So I fear we are in for a prolonged period of unrest.

And then there is the thought of the once seemingly untouchable president who was suddenly voted down. It makes you wonder what awaits Curaçao's first single-party government. Will it be rewarded for its supposed Bon Trabou?

Miguel Goede