Muña speaks on current healthcare challenges with local journalists

The CNMI chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists held their monthly general membership meeting last week with a special appearance from Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.CEO Esther Muña who touched on some of the recent headlines and news cycles about CNMI’s healthcare system.

Last Friday, Muña joined members of the CNMI SPJ for their monthly general membership meeting where she discussed some of the current issues surrounding CHCC and the CNMI healthcare system.

One of the biggest issues Muña discussed was the lack of funding for the Health Network Program (previously known as the Medical Referral Program).

Muña shared that although CHCC is grateful for the recent $380,000 appropriation from both Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and the Saipan and Northern Islands Delegation, it’s only a drop in the bucket compared to the actual expenses of over $3 million projected for the program.

“The $380,000 is a drop in the bucket of the $3 million to $6 million projected expenses annually. Our projections in the past year, based on subsistence allowance, lodging, transportation, we projected at least $3 million to about $6 million a year. Unfortunately, the government doesn’t have the $6 million to spare,” she said.

Muña added that by law, CHCC—who oversees the HNP—cannot force the government to appropriate funding for the program which leaves them in the current dilemma where they are required to transport patients but have no funds to pay for it.

“HNP is our responsibility by law, however, the HNP law did not actually identify a funding source for it. It specifically just says CHCC manages [the program] and there is a [specific] portion there in the law that says that we need to project the cost and every quarter. We send that letter to the Legislature when we ask for appropriation. [Currently] we are in a situation—which is also stated in the law—where we cannot force the government to obligate these funds. So here we are spending and yet there is no appropriation, and the law does not allow us to put that debt on the government,” she said.

“On the one hand, as a certified healthcare facility, CHCC has an obligation to transfer patients safely if they need medical attention off-island. We take that responsibility whether the government has money or not. It’s our responsibility that the patient, if they need a high level of care, is transported before they are discharged,” she added.

Muña also expressed that CHCC, when transporting patients for medical care not available in the CNMI, must transport patients to the nearest facility which is Guam. However, because Guam also has its limitations, Muña said the next closest facility is Hawaii and San Diego which can get costly.

Currently the fiscal year 2025 budget as proposed by the Office of the Governor allocates $800,000 to the HNP program, which is a fraction of the funds needed to continue to provide medical referral services for local patients who need a higher level of medical care.

Aside from HNP, Muña also touched a little bit on challenges surrounding the CNMI’s Medicaid program and issues surrounding the Community Guidance Center’s use of federal funds.