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Lodging assistance approved for referral patients’ relatives
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Posted on Aug 26 2005
The emergency regulation that provides repayable financial aid in the form of an “accommodations allowance” to family members of a patient under the Medical Referral Program has been approved, according to the Department of Public Health.
In a public notice signed by DPH deputy secretary Pete Untalan last week, he said the provision will clarify that an “immediate relative of a patient with catastrophic illness is eligible for repayable financial assistance to cover the cost of accommodations during the time that the patient is receiving care, irrespective of residency.”
He said public interest required the adoption on an emergency basis of the amendments to the Rules and Regulations Governing the Administration of the Medical Referral Program.
The amendment is applicable only if the patient is under the age of 21, born in the CNMI and such assistance is truly deserved for the best interests of the patient. Untalan said the Medical Referral Committee would determine the eligibility for this assistance.
Repayable financial assistance will not be available to old cases.
“The financial assistance provided must be repaid in accordance with the terms and conditions of the repayment obligation agreed to by the [DPH] and the recipient,” part of the notice said.
DPH would have no discretion to waive, modify, alter or extend the terms and conditions of the repayment obligation and no other eligibility standards are affected by this change in the regulations.
The complete amendments were applied to Section 4.2, Residency Criteria; Section 4.3, Persons Ineligible for Participation in the Program; Section V, Covered Benefits Under the Medical Referral Program; and, Section 5.6 Repayable Financial Assistance in the Form of an Accommodations Allowance for an Immediate Relative of a Patient with Catastrophic Illness as new section. Sections not amended but affected by the proposed changes include Sections 9.4, 9.8 and 11.2 (a).
The Public Health office found that it is in the best interests of the public that the amendments to the regulation become effective immediately upon concurrence by the governor and the Attorney General Office.
