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CHCC transitioning to managing Medical Referral
Eight years since the Medical Referral Program was placed under the Office of the Governor, the program is going back to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., according to CHCC chief executive officer Esther L. Muña.
Speaking during a radio news briefing last Friday, Muña said that CHCC is now transitioning to managing the program, including an employee orientation for Medical Referral Services Office staff as they “become part of the CHCC family.”
CHCC has also been reviewing the accounts of those availing of the MRSO’s services to “ensure that services can continue,” she added.
In May 2013, then-governor Eloy S. Inos issued an executive order ordering CHCC to transfer management of the program to the Office of the Governor, which then assumed responsibility for the administration and operation of the office. This year, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres approved a provision in the budget bill for fiscal year 2022 that transferred the administration of the program back to CHCC.
Muña said that CHCC is looking to reform some MRSO practices, policies, and procedures to see “what really works best for the CNMI” and will be taking into “hard consideration” recommendations that were given by the CNMI Legislature during recent hearings on the program.
“We want to make sure that any [reformed] policies and procedures…will address [the CNMI’s needs] and see what best works for our people here, as services may be needed beyond CHCC and what’s available here in the CNMI,” said Muña.
