HERMAN T. Palacios, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Labor and Immigration, is opposing the Department of Public Health’s decision to fully implement the 1996 medical referral policies halting the program’s payment of transportation expenses for the patient’s family escorts.
Recently, Public Health Secretary James U. Hofschneider said that as part of its austerity measure, the department was in the process of implementing the 1996 policy which disallows the payment of airline tickets of family escorts unless they meet certain physical and financial criteria set forth in the policy.
But Palacios, R-Saipan, accused Hofschneider of being “insensitive” to the need of a patient to be accompanied by an escort.
“I want to remind the secretary that a moral support on a patient who is referred off-island is probably the most important medication. I hope he knows that many families are incapable of paying for their tickets. Would he expect that it would be easy for a patient to go on an off-island trip without an escort? I believe that if you’re going to send patients off-island and you don’t provide an escort, the patient may altogether refuse to go. He may just probably stay on the island and wait for his death,” he said.
Hofschneider said he has sent letters to various CNMI travel agencies that may assist the families of patients being referred to off-island medical facilities. He said that he asked these agencies if they have humanitarian programs that can assist the families of patients like installment payment of airline tickets and other discounts.
But Palacios said this solution is not enough. He said the department can always seek help from the Legislature to address the matter.
Palacios added that he “would be glad” if Hofschneider will donate the excess of his salary to the medical referral program.
Hofschneider is receiving an annual salary of $140,000. P.L. 9-25 states that the salary ceiling for a public health secretary is only $80,000.
Palacios recently went back to Saipan after spending a few weeks in Hawaii for kidney treatment. He said the dialysis facility in Honolulu is inadequate so his doctors advised him to go back to the island to continue his treatment. He will return to Hawaii soon for his surgery.
