WILLEMSTAD - The implementation of the Landsverordening Normering Topinkomens (LNT), a law capping top salaries, has not delivered the expected savings, according to the National Association of Medical Specialists in Employment Curaçao (LVMPiDC). Instead, it has led to a shortage of medical specialists and an increase in treatments that need to be carried out abroad.
The law, which limits the salaries of top officials, also applies to medical specialists employed by the Curaçao Medical Center (CMC), although this was not the original intention.
The LVMPiDC claims that the focus on salary cuts and growing bureaucracy is putting healthcare in Curaçao under pressure. Specialists are leaving the island due to lower wages, resulting in higher costs as patients increasingly need to seek care abroad. Additionally, it is becoming more difficult for Curaçao to attract local specialists who were trained abroad back to the island.