The Senate Advances 100% Extension of Federal Coverage to the Medicaid Program for Puerto Rico

Statement

Washington, DC-The resident commissioner, Jenniffer González Colón, highlighted the work together with the Majority and Minority in Congress to move forward with the approval of 100 percent federal funding for the Medicaid program in Puerto Rico, which was included in the Continuous Budget Resolution approved today in the federal House of Representatives and now passed to the Senate for evaluation.

The resident commissioner highlighted the joint effort with Governor Wanda Vázquez and her work team, legislative presidents Thomas Rivera Schatz and Carlos "Johnny" Méndez, legislators, as well as the private sector.

"We thank our colleagues who have included in the Continuous Resolution a provision to extend the application of 100% FMAP to our Medicaid Program during the next 7 weeks, as we have asked the leadership and found in our letter that we sent him the past September 13th. We know that this was done in recognition of the injustice in which American citizens living in the territories are treated by our Medicaid program. This great step is one of those we hope to achieve until we ensure that the thousands of American citizens living on the island can safely count on funds for their health care. We trust that Republican colleagues and Senate Democrats will quickly approve the measure so that it can be signed by the President, "said González Colón.

The resident commissioner managed to stop the so-called "Medicaid Cliff" of 2017 by obtaining in May of that year $ 295.9 million to finance the program until April 2018.

Due to the great impact of Hurricane Maria, the commissioner achieved in February 2018 a greater allocation of funds, $ 4,900 million, to cover for the next two years Medicaid with a match of 100% by the federal government (FMAP). | Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (PL 115-123).

As the date of exhaustion of these funds approaches, the commissioner continues in the process for a long-term solution of Medicaid funds in Puerto Rico.

"The federal expense for the Puerto Rico Medicaid program will reach the limit of $ 374 million before the expiration of this Continuous Resolution. Because of this, we must act quickly to consider other legislative pieces and provide not only a patch, but a longer-term solution for such an important federal program upon which millions of American citizens depend, "concluded the resident commissioner.

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