“It is very unfair to the people of Rota and Tinian who are not getting similar health services provided to Saipan residents,” he said.
Under the emergency amendments to the medical referral rules, Public Health now requires escorts of medical referral patients to pay for the airfare if their salaries exceed $25,000 a year.
Borja said Public Health should continue providing free airfare to escorts.
“This [new] policy is very discriminatory,” he added.
The proposed amendments published in the Commonwealth Register stated that those earning between $25,000 and $50,000, should pay 50 percent of the airfare and those whose annual income is below $25,000 or is considered an indigent will get 100 percent airfare assistance from the medical referral services program.
Subsistence allowance will no longer be available to medical referral patients and escorts.
Borja said the government is no longer concerned about saving the life of a person.
