Fitial places CHC under state of emergency, again

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial declared a state of emergency, again, for the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., allowing for the suspension of laws and rules and for the governor to be able to reprogram funds to help prevent any hospital shutdown.

The emergency declaration was signed at 12:30pm Friday.

“A State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is declared due to the imminent threat of the disruption of critical medical services in the Commonwealth and the danger that such a condition poses to the public because of the great increase in otherwise preventable deaths that would result,” Fitial said in his two-page Executive Order 2012-03.

The last time the governor issued an emergency declaration for CHC was on March 6, 2012 and expired early this month.  That EO allowed CHC to enter into a loan deal with the Marianas Public Land Trust.

Fitial, in his new EO, said, “To ensure that the suspension of regulatory provisions does not lead to financial abuse, this emergency declaration incorporates the March 19, 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CHC and the Department of Finance, Office of Management and Budget, and Office of the Attorney General.”

“In addition, any financial reports submitted by the CHC pursuant to the MOU must be submitted with a certification of the person submitting them stating that the reports are full and accurate under penalty or perjury,” the governor said.

Fitial said in order to refinance the repayment of an earlier loan from MPLT, and for CHC to ensure its future financial security, it is necessary for an emergency declaration to be made that will allow the CHC to contract with a provider of medical billing services without CHC going through the standard procurement regulations.

At the same time, a six-member legislative conference committee completed this morning its report on a compromise version of House Bill 17-278 which will allow the Marianas Public Land Trust to provide a line of credit to CHC.

Rep. Ray Basa (Cov-Saipan), co-chair of the conference committee, said they are going back to the original amount of $11.58 million, but this just incorporates the $3 million already provided to CHC as well as a $1.58 million for its electronic system.  In essence, the compromise bill gives an additional $7 million line of credit.

More information to follow.