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Healthcare corp. wants MIAP transferred to central govt
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Posted on Jan 23 2012
By Moneth Deposa
Reporter
Reporter
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. wants all functions and responsibility of the Medically Indigent Assistance Plan transferred to the central government, which also handles the state Medicaid program.
MIAP is a program established to provide assistance to non-insured indigents by providing discounted rates on their prescription drugs as determined by the now defunt Department of Public Health.
For several years, DPH contracted PHI Pharmacy in providing service to MIAP clients. Source of the MIAP funds is the compact impact money provided to the CNMI yearly, which covers citizens of Federated States of Micronesia.
In a recent meeting of the healthcare corporation, board member Anthony Raho, the hospital’s inpatient pharmacist, recommended the full transfer of all CHC tasks to the program to the Medicaid Office under the executive branch. CHC, under the regulation, has the responsibility to determine who are eligible to avail MIAP services and an identification card is issued to qualified clients which they use in availing discounted medical drugs.
Raho believes that MIAP should be taken over by the government and the Medicaid Office should be the one to make the determination of the MIAP clients since they know who are eligible to receive the services. MIAP clients are those who did not qualify to the Medicaid or Medicare programs.
Because of the limited resources and austerity measures implemented at CHC, its MIAP office was closed since late last year. However, acting board chair Pedro Dela Cruz emphasized that the program was never terminated.
“MIAP still exists and it has never been terminated. Whatever was approved last year [by the CHC-MIAP office], they are valid through the 12-month period upon renewal process. As far as I am concerned, it’s good thing that PHI continues to honor them,” said the acting chairman.
Cruz has instructed corporation chief executive officer Juan N. Babauta to work with PHI Pharmacy, the board legal counsel, the executive branch, and other board members in coming up with a solution to avert the anticipated problems when MIAP IDs expire. The board chair also instructed Babauta to address the expired reduced price medication plan with PHI Pharmacy.
