The head of American Samoa's hospital says the wording of the law providing free health care must be revisited.
LBJ hospital, American Samoa Photo: RNZI
The CEO of the LBJ Hospital John Faumuina said the word 'free' should be taken out of the law as it would eliminate the need for the local government to pay subsidies to the hospital.
He said the hospital submitted a budget of $US50 million but the Budget Office demanded it be cut by $US4 million.
However, the Governor's Special Programs budget listed $4 million for LBJ Hospital subsidies.
Mr Faumina said he was concerned that the allocation may be treated as discretionary.