CNMI hospital no longer viable

Transcript

The only hospital in the Northern Marianas may not have the means to continue operating in the foreseeable future.

That's according to a report from the Office of the Public Auditor, which revealed the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation incurred an operating loss of 5.6 million US dollars and a massive 14.7 million US dollars in bad debts in 2013.

Our CNMI correspondent Mark Rabago says unless the government intervenes, the Commonwealth Healthcare Centre may not have the means to pay staff and meet operating costs.

MARK RABAGO: It was only given I think 5 million dollars money and after that been appropriated one million dollars annually so that's just not enough. And also recent problems with management with regards to its board of directors feuding with the chief executive officers also concentrated these problems with the hospital. I think the government should intervene. It's been losing money, has problems with collections, and a few years back it had problems paying off venders. And right now it's being threatened with disconnection of power utilities because it's unable to pay its utilities on time.
 

BRIDGET TUNNICLIFFE: And wasn't there a court order to prevent the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation [CUC] from disconnecting services?

MR: Yes, because the CUC sued CHC [Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation] to collect unpaid bills and CHC in turn sought a court order banning, or not allowing, CUC to uphold its power so now they're trying to talk things over, trying to have a plan. But it all boils down to CHC not being able to be financially independent, not being able to collect as much money as it could from patients, and the government turning a blind eye and not really supporting it.

BT: Surely the government's got to step in soon?

MR: Yes, everybody's concerned because it's our own lone hospital and the bottom line is a lot of people in the CNMI don't have the means to pay for its healthcare needs and some are to able to pay the hospital in time and that results in the hospital not generating enough money to operate. There was also a few instances in the past that they weren't able to pay their nurses and their staff, and doctors, in time, and right now they're actually trying to take out the housing allowance for nurses which is a  big concern because a lot of nurses are already threatening to resign if they lose that benefit.

BT: So if a member of the public is sick and has to stay in the hospital overnight what kind of charges is that person looking at?

MR: I don't know the exact charges but it's higher than before. Some say it's like 50 percent higher than before and they have to recoup what they're paying for CUC, the medicines, and payment for the staff. But the problem is there are a lot of patients who have no means to pay and the government and the hospital has no means of turning them back and denying them healthcare so in the end the government pays for these indigents who don't actually qualify for medication or free healthcare., that's also the problem the hospital is facing.