*
Under Option E,
the Marshall Islands health care system would assume full
responsibility for detection, Rx and follow-up of radiation-related diseases, as
well as primary care.*
We would suggest some initial interdepartmental funding to support whichever
option DOE/DOL desires until the status of the "free association" is clarified.
After a responsible governing body is identified in the Marshalls, a new
"sharing" of primary and secondary health costs might be negotiated with the
Marshalls,
care.
that would direct an adequate percentage of their budget into health
We feel the medical administrative expertise does not currently exist in
the Marshalls to implement and man this new system and would strongly urge the
interested parties to obtain the best available health care system analyst to develop realistic cost/effective short and long-term plans for
-‘equate health
care with existing and expected resources.
:
This is the optimum time to perform this type of study and planning and
the outcome will greatly influence the scope of the BNL medical effort.
Serious
consideration should be directed toward the utilization of existing expertise in
developing health care systems for the South Pacific.
The University of
* Southern California, Loma Linda, and UCLA have *
developed well-recognized and highly-effective programs to deal with many of the
basic problems confronted by the Marshall Islands.
Those problems are basically
a maze of anthropolgic and sociologic characteristics determining the health status of the society and each individual. We feel a multidisciplinary approach to
restructuring the health care system will be the most cost/effective method in
the long run.
The University of Southern California has expressed an interest
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