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CHCC tells House committee budget shortfall risks services without full Medicaid match and Health Network funding
Summary
Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation leaders told the House Committee on Ways and Means that a shortfall in the local Medicaid match and partial funding for the Health Network Program are forcing CHCC to use internal revenues and could reduce services unless the commonwealth increases support.
Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation leaders told the House Committee on Ways and Means on Aug. 11 that the hospital system faces a projected shortfall unless the commonwealth provides the full Medicaid local match and larger appropriation for the Health Network Program (HNP), the off‑island medical referral program.
The matter was presented by Eleanor Cabrera, chief strategy officer for the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC). “We remain the only hospital and public health provider in the CNMI, serving patients across Saipan, Tinian and Rota,” Cabrera said. She told the committee CHCC delivered “over a 124,000 patient encounters” in 2024 and that Medicaid and Medicare account for nearly 80% of CHCC patient revenue.
Why it matters: CHCC said the commonwealth’s local Medicaid match unlocks federal funding at about a 1:5 ratio; if the local match is not fully funded, CHCC risks leaving federal dollars on the table and absorbing more…
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