By Emmanuel T. Erediano
emmanuel@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
WITH just three weeks before health insurance coverage provided by Aetna International Inc. expires for CNMI retirees, the Legislature is facing mounting pressure to act on Gov. David M. Apatang’s budget revision proposal for fiscal year 2026.
The governor submitted a proposed budget revision to the Legislature on Oct. 14, 2025, identifying $138.4 million available for appropriation and outlining his administration’s priorities, including $7.2 million for group health and life insurance to ensure uninterrupted healthcare coverage for both retirees and active government employees.
On Nov. 18, 2025, he submitted an updated budget revision proposal, increasing the total to $144.3 million, including $3.7 million in lapsed funds from the last quarter of the FY 2025 budget.
To save health insurance coverage for retirees and active employees, the House of Representatives, in its session at 1 p.m. today, Friday, will act on House Bill 24-75, which would allow the Department of Finance to utilize the $3.7 million for continued payment of group health and life insurance employer premiums for retirees.
Authored by Rep. Blas Jonathan Attao, the bill authorizes Finance to allot $2.8 million for the retirees’ group health and life insurance coverage and $936,896 for the Public School System.
In response to a Variety request for comment on the looming end of insurance coverage for retirees, the administration said the governor has written to and met with members of the Legislature, asking them to pass his proposed budget revision, which addresses both retirees’ and active government employees’ insurance coverage, as well as other critical services.
The administration also stated that “the continued delay or ‘piece-meal’ action on the revised budget further endangers the government’s Group Health and Life Insurance.”
In an interview, House Ways and Means Committee Chair John Paul Sablan said the House will act on the $3.7 million authorization legislation to address, for now, group health and life insurance coverage for retirees.
“It’s not the whole amount needed, but we will address some funding for now before the Dec. 31 notice deadline while we, the bicameral budget committee, are still working on the revised budget jointly,” Sablan said, adding that after passing H.B. 24-75, “we will continue our joint efforts in passing a revised budget.”
For his part, Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee Chair Jude Hofschneider said in a committee meeting on Monday that the Senate is “poised to address that particular legislation as soon as it gets to the Senate.”
That, he said, would give the Legislature some time to act on the revised FY 2026 budget “as we wait for the administration’s effort to engage with the MPLT $29 million loan.”
“Once that is consummated, we will begin the exercise on the revised FY 2026 budget to enable us to come up with the best solution for the remainder of the fiscal year,” Hofschneider said.
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
