GOVERNOR Juan N. Babauta has commissioned the University of Guam to conduct a comprehensive assessment and study on CNMI health care capability and concerns regarding the spiraling cost of health care.
Babauta said the assessment and study will lead to his proposal of a region-wide health model designed to ultimately redirect referrals to the region once the needed health facilities are built in the CNMI, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.
Babauta said his proposal is a “complicated issue.”
However, he added, it is designed to make health care “much easier and less costly.” It will reduce referrals made outside the region once these facilities are built, the governor said.
“I’ve been talking to a number of people about how we should approach this,” he told Variety.
During the election campaign last year, Babauta said he would work with Guam and other regional governments to build a “network of specialized health care facilities” in Micronesia.
Guam, for example, could specialize on tertiary care level to treat advance cases of surgery. The CNMI, for its part, would have pediatric center while the FSM and Palau would establish research center for various diseases.
“This approach will reduce cost and improve service through division of labor and by bringing treatment closer to home,” states the GOP 2001 Platform.
“Working together as a region would make this proposal workable,” Babauta said.
