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Torres signs bill to improve accountability of healthcare
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Posted on Aug 02 2016
With the rising costs of healthcare, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres signed Senate Bill 19-61 into Public Law 19-56 last Thursday amending sections of Title 3 and 4 of the Commonwealth Code to assess the total costs of healthcare in the CNMI by establishing a claims and clinical data warehouse at CHCC and to improve accountability for how health insurance premiums are spent by requiring health insurance and health care providers to submit reports on claims and clinical data to the insurance commissioner.
Introduced in September of last year by Sen. Sixto K. Igisomar (R-Saipan), the Committee on Health, Education and Welfare adopted the bill in May.
The Legislature found that the Commonwealth lacked a medical claims and clinical data warehouse which PL 19-56 seeks to establish an office at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. to monitor and analyze health care costs, improve coordination and quality of care, asses population health conditions, support health information exchange, conduct utilization reviews, identify healthcare disparities, inform consumers of cost and quality of healthcare services, support the planning and evaluation of healthcare operations and case, establish baseline data for application for funding and federal reporting, and conduct waste, fraud and abuse investigations.
Torres emphasized the importance of creating public policy that reflects the most current data, adding that health care is a key policy area that heavily relies on the most up-to-date information.
“The goal is to make sure health care is affordable and accessible in the CNMI. This includes establishing accountability for health insurance and health care,” Torres added.
