DISCUSSIONS are underway between the CNMI’s only hospital and the Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care regarding healthcare access for military veterans on island.
Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna told local reporters last week that there is only one primary care doctor for CNMI veterans.
“A lot of it has to do with the population. How many veterans are on island?… When [veterans] say there are not enough doctors, it’s because there is only one doctor here that actually sees them under primary care. Now, there is a lot of discussion between us and Hawaii about looking at maybe making our [CHCC] doctors also be a part of that system,” Muna said.
But this requires putting things down on paper, she added. “We need to work it out with them and see how we can get paid, because most of the services we’re providing for the VA are really service-connected, and those things require prior approval, so it is a little different.”
She added, “This is the VA that we’re talking about, right? [Veterans] have better access to go off island, but see, a lot of them don’t necessarily want to. That’s why [veterans] are bringing it up, because…like any other citizen in the CNMI, they want to get their care here. They want to go get their care, then go home and cook for their families. A typical day, right? Not to go home, then get stuck in a hotel and then wait [there]. For a lot of people, that’s not what they’re looking for.”
Muna said she supports Community-Based Outpatient Clinics or CBOCs through the VA to provide a community of providers who will be on island to address veterans’ healthcare needs.
“We’re very busy. The reality is that it just gets busy. Ten years ago, it wasn’t this busy. There’s a lot of healthcare to provide,” she said.
