A special \u201ccancer fund\u201d account was zeroed out in an appropriations measure passed by the House of Representatives yesterday in order to move money to aid the local hospital\u2019s dental and Medicaid programs.<\/p>\n
That special \u201ccancer fund\u201d was created through a provision in public law last year that gave 3 percent of excise taxes to cancer treatment and programs.<\/p>\n
Gov. Eloy S. Inos earmarked a projected $970,000 for fiscal year 2016 for the account. That amount was projected revenue eyed by lawmakers during budget talks over the last several weeks. While withdrawn from the eventual compromise budget bill, it was agreed in \u201cgood faith\u201d to introduce the measure in the House.<\/p>\n
Rep. Angel Demapan (R-Saipan) introduced the bill and urged for first and final reading yesterday.<\/p>\n
The bill, H.B. 19-101, appropriates $520,000 from the cancer fund to support programs of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. and the CNMI Medical Referral Services program.<\/p>\n
Rep. Antonio Sablan (Ind-Saipan) offered two amendments to the bill, one of which was for $250,000 for Medicaid local matching funds for new federal initiatives that lawmakers said could result in $2.25 million from the federal side, under a 90-to-10 cost-share initiative, according to Demapan.<\/p>\n
Demapan said under regular Medicaid program it is 55-to-45 percent cost-share. \u201cThis is a great opportunity to really see our money make the most out of the matching fund,\u201d he told reporters after the House passed the bill unanimously to applause from the attending public.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn order to participate in that program, the government has to be able to match 10 percent. We are matching $250,000 in order to make $2.2 million\u201d for the federal match.<\/p>\n
That $2.2 million would go to Medicaid coverage on top of what they already have, Demapan said.<\/p>\n
Sablan told reporters his amendment was part of a request by the administration to back a new initiative to support a CNMI match for Medicaid coverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe initiative is to provide improvement to data gathering and information,\u201d Sablan said.<\/p>\n
Sablan\u2019s other amendment was to move $200,000 from the account to the Commonwealth Cancer Association.<\/p>\n
Margaret Torres Aldan, director of the Department of Public Health, spoke during public comments in support of the bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy keep the Public Health dental clinic open when there are private clinics that accept Medicaid participants? I will tell you why,\u201d she told lawmakers. \u201cThe public health dental clinic is the only dental clinic with school program. These are school programs that provide preventive oral health services including education and follow-up care to our children enrolled in the Head Start program and the elementary schools, including Rota and Tinian.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur young adults are dying of oral cancer,\u201d Aldan said in her remarks. \u201cFrom the cancer registry, there are 25 young adults diagnosed with oral cancer from 2007 to 2014. Out of this 25, twenty-three have expired due to complications of oral cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026The public health dental clinic is the only clinic that provides dental services to the uninsured. No one is turned away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Adam Gentry, chief dentist for CHCC, said his work at CHCC Dental has been \u201ceye-opening\u201d and urged passage of the bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen things that I would have never seen had I worked this position in the States,\u201d he said, noting the state of oral cancer on island.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026We see almost on a weekly basis the amount of oral cancer that just walks into our door. [These patients] have never been seen by anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust in the last week, we\u2019ve had four cases that walked into our door,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ask for some of this funding because we serve almost as secondary emergency room for CHCC, because of our close coordination with both pediatrics, with family care clinic, with emergency room, with the women\u2019s clinic. They refer a lot of their patients down to us when it refers to an oral screening especially oral cancer related,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the last stop for patients before they are referred off-island for care that they couldn\u2019t see here,\u201d he said, referring to general anesthesia for small children that have high need for dental restoration, and special care for both children and adults.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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