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Unpaid medical bills
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Posted on Aug 24 2000
The Issue: The decision by Straub hospital not to accept anymore patients from the CNMI.
Our View: The root of the problem is non-payment of bills which must be resolved forthwith.
It is very unsettling for those with government health insurance to read tidings that a major off-island medical center will no longer accept patients from here until bills to the tune of $3 million-plus are paid off.
Whether this setback is cumulative–medical bills piled up over several years–for one reason or another, the fact remains that it must be paid in full. Otherwise, we’re risking denial of acute or critical medical services (specialties) that can’t be provided at the Commonwealth Health Center. It could also be the very launch pad for lawsuits from paying members.
This issue alone depicts the signs of the times when resources we once have taken for granted turn into scarcity. It’s a tale that someday soon, leadership–local government, health insurers, providers and others–must buckle down to resolve the labyrinth of major health issues we have skirted all along.
Whether we like it or not, there are a lot of sick people in these isles. It includes short and long-term illnesses, not to mention catastrophic cases, i.e., serious auto accidents requiring patient referral to off-island medical centers.
The greater question though is: How do we deal with long-term illnesses, i.e., kidney failure, diabetes, breast and other forms of cancer; cardio-vascular diseases like stroke and heart attacks, among others.
Specifically, how do we assist families deal with the humongous cost of cancer treatment, open-heart surgery, kids born with congenital diseases, after exhausting their health insurance policy?
The retirement program can only do so much what with a huge unpaid obligatory contribution from the local government in the millions of dollars. This too must be resolved lest we would be placing the lives of patients (retirees and others) in harms way. Let’s buckle down and resolve this and other pertinent health issues. It’s our obligation. Si Yuus Maase`!
