Gov. Benigno R. Fitial declared a state of emergency, again, for the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., allowing for the suspension of laws and rules and for the governor to be able to reprogram funds to help prevent any hospital shutdown.\u00a0
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\nThe emergency declaration was signed at 12:30pm Friday.
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\n\u201cA State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is declared due to the imminent threat of the disruption of critical medical services in the Commonwealth and the danger that such a condition poses to the public because of the great increase in otherwise preventable deaths that would result,\u201d Fitial said in his two-page Executive Order 2012-03.
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\nThe last time the governor issued an emergency declaration for CHC was on March 6, 2012 and expired early this month.\u00a0 That EO allowed CHC to enter into a loan deal with the Marianas Public Land Trust.
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\nFitial, in his new EO, said, \u201cTo ensure that the suspension of regulatory provisions does not lead to financial abuse, this emergency declaration incorporates the March 19, 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CHC and the Department of Finance, Office of Management and Budget, and Office of the Attorney General.\u201d
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\n\u201cIn addition, any financial reports submitted by the CHC pursuant to the MOU must be submitted with a certification of the person submitting them stating that the reports are full and accurate under penalty or perjury,\u201d the governor said.
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\nFitial said in order to refinance the repayment of an earlier loan from MPLT, and for CHC to ensure its future financial security, it is necessary for an emergency declaration to be made that will allow the CHC to contract with a provider of medical billing services without CHC going through the standard procurement regulations.
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\nAt the same time, a six-member legislative conference committee completed this morning its report on a compromise version of House Bill 17-278 which will allow the Marianas Public Land Trust to provide a line of credit to CHC.
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\nRep. Ray Basa (Cov-Saipan), co-chair of the conference committee, said they are going back to the original amount of $11.58 million, but this just incorporates the $3 million already provided to CHC as well as a $1.58 million for its electronic system.\u00a0 In essence, the compromise bill gives an additional $7 million line of credit.
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\nMore information to follow.\u00a0
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