‘Don’t suspend referral allowance’

A Rota senator asked the Department of Public Health yesterday to withdraw its plan to suspend the subsistence allowance provided to medical referral patients and their escorts.

Sen. Paul A. Manglona said the Legislature should be given a time to step in and do what it can so that DPH can continue providing the $20 daily subsidy.

“We understand that the revenues are not coming in, the garment factories are closing, and we’re in tough times. But we cannot just stop providing this benefit to medical referral patients. Most of them are low-income people and they cannot afford health insurance. Having to travel for medical treatment is burden enough,” Manglona said.

He maintained that Rota and Tinian residents will be most affected by the suspension of the subsistence allowance, as they often have to fly to Saipan for treatment.

Citing the government’s financial problems, DPH recently adopted emergency regulations to remove the $20 daily subsistence allowance for medical referral patients on outpatient status, as well as for family or friend escorts while at the referral location.

“Because of the severe and austere fiscal situation of the CNMI government, namely the Department of the Public Health Medical Referral Program, the Secretary of Health is forced to make necessary adjustments on expenditure within the DPH to ensure that finite resources are re-directed to critical services that affect direct patient care. Eliminating subsistence has no negative effect on the medical outcome of a patient’s condition or ailment,” the department said in a public notice published in the latest issue of the Commonwealth Register.

The suspension of the allowance became effective last month and will remain in effect until March 2007.

According to Manglona, one possible solution to the medical referral program’s problem is a bill that he will soon introduce in the Senate.

The senator said he is now drafting legislation that would authorize DPH to keep any amount that it collects from its estimated $98-million accounts receivable.

“Currently, any amount collected by Public Health goes to the general fund. My proposal is to let them keep anything they collect and use it for the hospital, specifically the medical referral program. This gives DPH an incentive to pursue unpaid hospital bills,” Manglona said.