Why Is Medicaid Different in Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico receives much less funding for healthcare than any of the 50 states, even though its needs are greater. In a Congressional hearing last week, Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) asked, “Why are the U.S. territories treated differently?”
Dr. Anne L. Schwartz, the director of Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), responded that the inequity is a “historic artifact” that “has not been updated.”
Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) followed up with a question about the origins of the differences in Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program. Sarbanes said that this information is important; to make the most robust argument, we need to say that needs must be met and the rationale that justified past treatment is no longer relevant.
The History of Medicaid in Puerto Rico
Medicaid originally was for people who received Federal cash assistance (welfare). Puerto Rico was included along with the 50 states, and the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Read more: https://www.puertoricoreport.com/why-is-medicaid-different-in-puerto-rico/
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