Legislative Intent

(a)I Liheslatura hereby finds and declares that the cost of health care now exceeds the ability to pay for the average resident of Guam. Expanded insurance protection has been seriously retarded by uncontrolled inflation in health care costs.

(b)Factors responsible for the inflationary spiral in health costs include failure to place primary emphasis on personal disease prevention, and personal maintenance of health and ambulatory health care. To improve this situation, it is necessary to strengthen the planning of operating health services, guarantee quality and accessibility of appropriate health care at all times and require the accountability of the provider to make available that care plus development of standards of quality sufficient to adequately protect patients.

(c)To assure that citizens of Guam will be able to obtain as well as afford necessary health services on an equitable basis, compulsory prepaid health and sickness coverage, accomplished through payroll deduction made by employers and employees, is effective on the passage of this Chapter, and operative on the first day of the first calendar year after the rates and benefits proposed by the Commission have been approved by I Liheslatura.