By Emmanuel T. Erediano
emmanuel@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. on Thursday expressed concern about a bill that would impose a new administrative burden on the islands’ only hospital without providing funding to support its implementation.
CHCC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Esther Muna was commenting on House Bill 24-59, which seeks to establish clear billing rules to prevent abusive or negligent back billing, strengthen consumer confidence, and preserve the right of service providers to recover amounts lawfully owed.
Authored by Reps. Vincent Aldan and Julie Marie Ogo, H.B. 24-59, which is now in the Senate, would allow healthcare providers subject to federal billing mandates to back bill for up to 12 months for claims tied to those programs. The bill also requires providers to submit quarterly public billing reports to the CNMI Consumer Protection Office and the Legislature.
Because of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation’s ongoing billing system upgrade, the bill includes a 24-month exemption and grace period, which begins on or around the effective date of the act. Once the upgrade is completed, CHCC may resume its back-billing procedures to the standard 12 months.
In her letter to Senate President Karl King-Nabors, Muna emphasized CHCC’s commitment to fair billing practices and consumer protection. She said the corporation shares the Legislature’s goal of preventing billing abuses while ensuring the community has access to quality healthcare.
At the same time, Muna urged that any legislation in this area account for the significant compliance costs it imposes and provide public funding to prevent those costs from being shifted onto patients or reducing essential health services.
She acknowledged that the bill’s provisions granting a 24-month exemption and grace period during CHCC’s electronic health record system implementation demonstrate legislative understanding of the complex operational realities facing the CNMI’s healthcare system. She also noted the 12-month back-billing allowance for providers subject to federal mandates such as Medicaid and Medicare.
The CEO, however, said that while these exemptions provide necessary relief, she respectfully brought to the Senate president’s attention “significant concerns regarding the compliance requirements and administrative burdens that accompany provisions” of H.B. 24-59, “particularly given the absence of any appropriated funding to support its implementation.”
She added that the bill imposes “substantial compliance requirements on healthcare providers as a condition of the extended back-billing exemption.” Critically, the bill contains no appropriation or funding mechanism to offset these compliance costs, she 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.
