Hiring of foreign doctors not illegal

Legislation allowing foreign doctors to practice their profession in the CNMI is consistent with regulations on Medicaid certification for medical staff and health care providers, according to the Department of Public Health’s legal counsel.

Assistant Attorney General Celeste E. Anderson said the proposed licensure for doctors from other countries will not impact on the Commonwealth Health Center’s Medicaid program, citing compliance with the eligibility requirements.

These include license from the Medical Profession Licensing Board and satisfaction of the standards set by the Credential Committee, such as education, training, experience, ethics, good reputation and character as well as ability to work well with the medical staff and evidence of medical malpractice insurance.

“If a foreign physician can satisfy these conditions, then he or she may be eligible to work at CHC without jeopardizing [its Medicaid] certification,” Ms. Anderson said in a letter to the House Committee on Health.

The panel chaired by Rep. Malua T. Peter is currently reviewing SB 12-56, otherwise known as the Foreign Doctors Licensure Act of 2000 which was passed by the upper house last March.

Sponsored by Senate President Paul A. Manglona, the measure is intended to bolster the bid by the CNMI government to become a haven for retirees from other countries and will complement an earlier law signed by the governor creating retirement communities on the islands.

According to its findings, Public Law 11-60 advocating the retirement communities is not enough to entice elderly people from other countries into the Commonwealth, who could then contribute to the local economy through new sources of capital and consumer spending.

“Retirees, because they are getting on in age, are especially concerned that good medical care be available. Most importantly, they need to feel that doctors and other medical personnel with whom they feel comfortable will be readily available,” stated the bill.

“Without this assurance, the wealthy foreign nationals the Commonwealth hopes to attract will not be willing to relocate here,” it added.

To resolve the problem, the measure seeks to provide license to practice in the CNMI to doctors and other medical personnel who “not only speak the foreign language, but also have the necessary cultural sensitivity and familiarity with the type and manner of medical practice in the home country.”

By allowing them practice on the island, they will be able to provide for the health needs of the retirees without sacrificing appropriate medical standards and protection of the public, it said.

Ms. Andersen, in her testimony presented to the House committee on behalf of Attorney General Herbert D. Soll, maintained that the bill is a constitutionally appropriate legislative undertaking.