WILLEMSTAD – Medical specialists in Curaçao may, in specific cases, receive salaries above the maximum set by the National Ordinance on the Standardization of Top Incomes (Landsverordening Normering Topinkomens, LNT). This follows from an explanatory note to the legislation, which states that the Minister of Health has the authority to grant individual exemptions.
Under the arrangement, a specialist may only be paid above the established income ceiling after an evaluation and financial calculation carried out by the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature, in consultation with the Ministry of Finance. Final approval must be granted by the Council of Ministers. The decision must clearly specify by what amount or percentage the statutory maximum may be exceeded.
The LNT establishes a maximum annual income for top officials within government and government-owned entities. For large entities, this cap is set at 386,000 guilders per year. An exception is now being made possible for medical specialists, primarily due to shortages in certain medical disciplines and the need to reduce waiting lists in healthcare, particularly at the Curaçao Medical Center.
According to the explanatory note, recent reports by the Health Inspectorate indicate that staffing challenges at the hospital are not solely linked to the introduction of the LNT. Of the employees who left the CMC in 2023, only a small portion reportedly did so because of the income cap. Most departures were related to retirement, internal job changes, or other personal reasons. Part of this outflow has since been offset by new appointments.
The government emphasizes that the challenges facing the healthcare sector are structural and have existed for a longer period. Allowing higher remuneration for medical specialists is viewed as a limited and targeted measure to maintain the hospital’s attractiveness as an employer and to improve access to healthcare for the population.