CITING severe financial constraints, the Department of Public Health is set to fully implement the 1996 medical referral policies halting the program’s air fare payments for the patients’ family escorts unless they meet certain criteria.
Health Secretary James U. Hofschneider said the medical referral program has been “generously paying” for the airline tickets of family escorts accompanying patients referred outside the CNMI.
The program is also responsible for the patients and medical escorts’ transportation expenses.
“The economic reality now dictates some adjustments if our patients are to continue to have access to life-saving diagnostic and specialty care in Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines,” said Hofschneider.
Hofschneider said Public Health’s deficit stands at $9.3 million as of May 31.
As part of its cost-saving efforts, Public Health is now in the process of implementing the full spirit of the 1996 rules and regulations governing the medical referral program, said Hofschneider.
These regulations, as promulgated, do not allow the program to pay for airline tickets of family escorts unless they meet certain physical and financial criteria set forth in the policy.
If the household aggregate income falls below the threshold or the patient demonstrates the physical criteria mentioned in the policy, then the program would pay for the escort’s air fare.
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.
“I sent them request letters to ask if these travel agencies have a humanitarian program that can assist the families of patients, like allowing the release of tickets with partial cash payment of a percentage of the cost up front and subsequently payment in full later,” said Hofschneider.
The health secretary also inquired whether the travel agencies can extend “discounted patient rate” to family escorts.
“Lastly, will it be possible to team up with some finance companies that may be willing to extend signature loans for airline tickets only to patients’ families?” Hofschneider asked travel agencies in the two-page letters he sent.
He said many families of patients do not have credit cards to pay for the cost of airline tickets especially in an emergency.
“The goal of Public Health is to continue to strive to provide access to quality care off-island for the residents of our community despite the economic situation,” he said, adding that this can only be possible through partnership with the families that it serves and the business community.
Public Health sends an average of 500 to 515 patients annually to off-island medical facilities.
