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Fitial approves $20K for Tinian’s medical referral, dialysis patients
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Posted on May 11 2009
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has signed into law a local bill that allots $20,000 to the medical referral program and subsistence allowance of dialysis patients on Tinian.
House Local Bill 16-8, which sourced the money from local license fees collected from pachinko slot machines and poker machines, is now Tinian Local Law 16-8.
The bill, passed by the Tinian delegation on first and final reading on April 17, was offered by Rep. Edwin Aldan in March after finding out that there are island residents who are regularly referred to Saipan for dialysis.
“The expenses resulting from these referrals are negatively impacting the medical referral system. As a result, these patients are being urged to relocate to Saipan to be able to receive their medical treatments,” Aldan’s bill stated.
From the approved $24,000, Fitial allocated $10,000 to the Medical Referral Office for transportation expenses of dialysis patients who are regularly referred from Tinian to Saipan; and $10,000 for the monthly subsistence allowance for dialysis, cancer, multiple sclerosis, post-cervical, and vascular accident patients from Tinian.
The governor also approved $2,000 for the Tinian High School JROTC academic team for its participation in the upcoming College Options Foundation’s 2009 JROTC Leadership and Academic Challenge Bowl finals next month.
Another $2,000 was approved for the Mes Man’Amko celebration. Fitial had endorsed the month of May as Older Americans Month.
