Manglona: Guam pharmacies no longer accepting CNMI Medicaid

Paul Manglona and Esther Muña

Sen. Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) has appealed to Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. CEO Esther Muña to address the issue of Guam pharmacies no longer accepting CNMI Medicaid to cover prescriptions for CNMI medical referral patients who are seeking treatment in Guam.

In a letter to Muña, Manglona said it was recently brought to his attention that pharmacies in Guam are no longer accepting CNMI Medicaid to cover prescriptions issued by Guam-based physicians to CNMI medical referral patients.

“I write to express deep concern over the current misfortune of our residents referred for medical treatment [in] Guam [who] are covered under the Medicaid program. It has been brought to my attention that pharmacies [in] Guam no longer accept CNMI Medicaid as coverage for their prescriptions provided by Guam medical providers of our medical referral patients for over a year now,” he said.

Manglona stated in his letter that it is imperative that CHCC direct its attention to this matter as it is hindering CNMI patients in Guam from obtaining their medications.

“I can only imagine the extraordinary measures other patients and their families have had to endure in an effort to get their medication in a timely manner. Something needs to be done. I humbly and urgently request for your immediate attention to this matter,” he said.

Manglona explained that these circumstances have resulted in the added burden and stress of CNMI patients and their families who cannot afford Guam prescriptions out of their own pocket.

“As a result, many of our patients have had to delay taking their medication until returning to the CNMI, so that they may request for a new prescription from their primary physician in order to use their Medicaid with CNMI pharmacies,” Manglona said.

The senator also said that there are other patients who are unable to return to the CNMI and have to go through hoops to get their prescription sent over from the CNMI, which causes further delay.

“In more unfortunate cases, patients who require an extended treatment plan and are unable to return to the CNMI sooner have had to seek assistance from family members living in the CNMI, send their family a copy of their prescription in order for a family member to pick up their medications under the patient’s Medicaid, and then pouch the medication back to Guam in order for the patient to take their prescribed medication. Similarly, this process results in further delay of patients taking their medication in an already intense situation as family members are trying to cope with the patient’s medical diagnosis,” he said.

Although these are only two scenarios that have been brought to his attention, Manglona said there may be more if the issue is not addressed soon.

“These are just two scenarios that have been shared with me by our medical referral patients who have been denied use of their Medicaid for purposes of obtaining their prescribed medications while [in] Guam. As healthcare professionals, it is a well-known fact that further delay in taking medication to treat an individual’s ailment will be detrimental to their health. It is critical that we come together in an effort to resolve the issues that are hindering our patients from obtaining their medication,” Manglona said.

It was not immediately learned why Guam pharmacies have stopped honoring CNMI Medicaid.