Five patients have undergone medical treatment off island since the Medicaid funded Off -Island Referral Program resumed at the start of fiscal year 2025. The program had been suspended in March due to lack of funding.
One patient has returned after completion of treatment. One is undergoing treatment in Hawaii and three in New Zealand. Meanwhile, 8 requests were denied by Medicaid and 1 was denied by New Zealand. There are nine other patients awaiting acceptance from Hawaii and New Zealand.
Medicaid Director Sandra King Young said they are now up-to-date on all payments with off-island vendors. She pointed out that the challenge is always waiting for acceptance of patients to be referred off island.
There will be no off-island referrals during the holiday season, because doctors and clinics will close down for the holidays. King Young said referrals will start to pick up again in mid-January.
Asked about progress on a Memorandum of Understanding with Queens Hospital in Honolulu for referrals, the Medicaid Director said they are working on referring one patient to Queens to test out how an agreement can be developed for referral sand more importantly, payment. She said, “I think we can do it, but it is hard to re-establish that trust with the corporate office. The clinical teams are ready and willing, but it’s the business side in charge of billing and payments that remains a hurdle.”
Honolulu hospitals had stopped accepting patients from American Samoa several years ago because of non-payment of bills.
King Young emphasized that our government needs to always remember that paying the Medicaid bills have to be a priority. “Medicaid is a lifeline for our people and we cannot put it at risk by failing to pay our bills,” she said.
Asked for her thoughts on continuation of the Medicaid program as she ends her term as Director, she said, “I have trained my staff from within as my strategy for succession planning. I feel very confident that my current staff are well-prepared and ready to operate the program. I will always be here to help if they need me.”
