By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

A BIPARTISAN bill is proposing a partnership between the Guam Memorial Hospital and the private sector for the establishment of a Comprehensive Cancer Therapy Center on Guam.
Bill 98 requires GMH to prepare a plan for the establishment of a cancer therapy center, including a comparative study between a fully privatized institution and a public-private partnership.
The establishment of a cancer therapy center was included in the original 2007 budget law, which is currently in the process of being revised at the Legislature.
Bill 98, introduced by Sen. David Shimizu, D-Inarajan, amends the cancer therapy initiative to include a provision for the care of indigent patients receiving assistance from the Medically Indigent Program and Medicaid.
Shimizu also introduced the proposal as an amendment to Bill 74, the revised budget bill.
The bill proposes to appropriate $2 million from fiscal year 2008, which GMH would be required to keep separately as a “restricted fund solely for radiation therapy for cancer treatment.”
The bill would require GMH to enter into a contract with a private group for the operation of the Radiation Therapy Machine.
The bill is cosponsored by Sen. Frank Blas Jr., R-Barrigada, and Sen. Rory Respicio, D-Agana Heights.