Fund divided on GHLITF transfer issue

Instead of transferring its operations to the Governor’s Office, the Legislature should identify funding sources to fuel the operation of the Group Health and Life Insurance Trust Fund.

NMI Retirement Fund Board Chair Vicente Camacho called on to the Legislature to scrap moves that will displace the GHLI Trust Fund from its current status and be relegated under the purview of the Office of the Governor.

What the government needs to do is to allocate the needed supplemental budget to retire its outstanding debts. Once funds are sourced out, debts will be paid off thus the GHLI Branch can effectively operate the program, said Mr. Camacho.

“It doesn’t have to be transferred to the government. What it needs is money. If it will be transferred in the absence of enough money to operate it, the same problem remains. The obligation still exists,’ said the board chair.

GHLI manager Dolores Moore earlier urged the Legislature to study possible transfer of GHLI Trust Fund to the Governor’s office in hopes to get the necessary assistance to resolve several problems plaguing the program.

In a letter to Committee on Health and Welfare chair Maria Peter, Ms. Moore said the committee should begin exploring the possibility of appropriately placing GHLITF under the responsibility of the Governor’s Office.

The transfer will enable the program to be more efficient in addressing the issues that have persistently plagued GHLIP, Ms. Moore explained.

The program manager further explained that GHLITF is in dire need of an updated actuarial study to enable the program to align its fee schedule more accurately.

The actuarial study will also serve as a benchmark in developing institutional partnership like managed health care system with private and public health providers in the Commonwealth, said Ms. Moore.

“This will reduce medical institutional costs and GHLITF’s administrative overhead, in addition to better internal control in the usage of utilization review staff,” the program manager emphasized.

Since the inception of the GHLI Trust Fund, the resources of the program have not been adequate to pay all medical claims of GHLI subscribers.

The GHLIP based on the recent itemized cost breakdown released, is in need of over $4 million funding assistance from the Legislature to settle medical bills on more than 295 off and on island health service providers. (EGA)