The American Samoa Senate has rejected a measure that would provide US$2 million to the LBJ Medical Center for the off island medical referral programme.
The programme ran out of money at the end of last year after the buget of US$1 million was fully expended within the first three months of the fiscal year, which began last October.
Without the locally funded programme, patients seeking medical care off-island have to pay for the costs, while the hospital arranges for off-island medical facilities and physicians at Manila, in the Philippines, Honolulu in Hawaii or in New Zealand.
The LBJ's chief executive officer, Patricia Tindall, says the programme needs an annual allocation of $5.2 million.
