PRESUMPTIVE Eligibility, or PE, for Medicaid should continue in the CNMI as long as there is a public health emergency, according to Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, she said the renewal of the declaration of public health emergency is necessary.
The PE for Medicaid was extended to Jan. 10, then to Jan. 11. But because a mandatory two-month notice has not been issued by the federal government, the PE for Medicaid is likely extended until early March.
“There are a lot of things that we’re still addressing like, for example, the vaccination [and] the testing. There’s a need for it to continue,” Muna said.
“I do predict that it will eventually settle down, and that’s a decision that the governor and I, and the task force, will [make] to start ending it. It is still a public health emergency on the federal side, and that’s what’s been keeping the Covid-19 presumptive eligibility for Medicaid [going] for the CNMI,” she added.
Former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres informed the Legislature on Dec. 7, 2022 that he had issued Executive Order 2022-17 to renew the declarations of state of public health emergency and state of significant emergency due to the imminent threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The former governor signed Executive Order 2020-04 and EO 2020-07 during the onset of the pandemic early in 2020, ordering the CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management Office, through the Covid-19 Task Force in partnership with CHCC, to undertake necessary containment measures and emergency directives to protect the health and safety of the public.
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios will decide whether or not to keep the declaration in place.
Esther L. Muna
