‘Frustrated, disappointed, angry about medical referral program’

Tinian and Aguiguan Mayor Edwin P. Aldan believes the people of Tinian are frustrated, disappointed, and often angry about the CNMI Medical Referral Program, specifically the interisland referral program.

In his testimony at a public hearing on Tinian before the House Committee on Health and Welfare, Aldan said that people cannot understand such feelings unless they live on Tinian or Rota.

The mayor, however, emphasized that the problems that they face today with the program should not be blamed solely on the current administration since the people of Tinian have been battling inadequate medical care for decades now.

House Committee on Health and Welfare chair Rep. Christina E. Sablan (D-Saipan) held a public hearing on Tinian last May 10 as part of a review of the Commonwealth’s medical referral program and to examine how the program may be reformed to improve services, streamline costs, and enhance accountability.

Sablan

Sablan held a similar hearing on Rota last May 6. She also held a hearing on Saipan last Friday and will have another one this Wednesday at 3:30pm in the House of Representatives chamber.

In his testimony, Aldan pointed out that Saipan residents do not have to travel off island for even the most basic medical care and Saipan residents do not have to bear the financial burden, the inconvenience, or being displaced for the rest of their lives as in the case with dialysis patients. That’s not so with Tinian residents, he said.

And it’s not just the CNMI referral program, he said. The Tinian Mayor’s Office itself spends hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to ensure the residents obtain proper health care.

“We maintain a full staff on Saipan, operate two guest houses for patients, rent hotel rooms when the guest house is full, and lease a number of vehicles,” the mayor said.
This, he added, does not include the municipal medical supplemental program that was in place prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Aldan said the supplemental program alone would spend nearly $150,000 per year for escorts when they do not qualify under the CNMI program and for rooms on Saipan when the guest house is full.

He said included in the $150,000 costs are airfare and stipend for Tinian patients referred to Saipan when certain medical treatment is not available on Tinian.

Noting that the problems of having inadequate medical care lasting decades already, Aldan pointed out that when the people of Tinian passed the Casino Gaming Initiative in 1989, the law specifically states that revenue collected from the casino industry will go to medical care and referral for their residents.

“Yes, this problem has been recognized by our people over 30 years ago and sad to say that over the past three decades it hasn’t gotten any better,” he added.

Aldan

Today, Aldan said, they don’t have a full-time doctor and full-time dental services on Tinian.

He said they still have a number of nurses that haven’t resolved their Commonwealth-Only Transitional Worker permit situation.

The mayor said their tiny medical facility needs much upgrading and new medical equipment.

Unfortunately, because of funding issues, every time they present their concerns to administrations and Legislature, that usually ends in inaction, Aldan said.

He said although adequate health care is the responsibility of the state, the CNMI has to resort to local appropriations for Tinian to address their health care needs.

Aldan expressed hope that with access to the American Rescue Plan Act funding or other federal funds, Sablan’s committee can help upgrade and expand Tinian’s facility so they are less dependent on the referral program and its people can be treated on Tinian.

The mayor believes that although the CNMI Medical Referral Program will probably continue to be underfunded until a major overhaul of the program is enacted, today’s focus must be placed on ensuring that Tinian and Rota residents are provided equal health care regardless if it’s on their home island or abroad.

Aldan hopes that Sablan’s committee takes their concerns seriously. “For once let’s take the politics out of health care and combine the efforts of the administration, Legislature, municipalities, and Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. to make changes to the current system so every CNMI citizen is given adequate and affordable healthcare regardless of which island they live on,” he added.