Supporting H.R. the Reauthorizing and Extending America's Community Health Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, now is the time to fix Medicaid funding, the insular areas. This is an area of strong bipartisan agreement-- Republicans and Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce committee agree, and something must be done. H.R. 2328 was reported out of Committee in July. This bipartisan solution would address the serious funding shortfall that all Insular Areas face now that the special Obamacare Medicaid funding has ended. Our hospital, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC), and other healthcare providers across the Marianas depend on the availability of Medicaid funds as a significant source of revenue. This special funding provided an average of $11 Million beyond our statutory cap each year, ensuring CHCC and other providers remain open so that people can access healthcare services. In Fiscal Year 2018, 49 percent of all third-party payor reimbursements to CHCC were Medicaid. That amounts to $17.3 Million in revenue representing almost 30 percent of the hospital's total revenue. CHCC relies on Medicaid. With no certainty of funding, the Marianas made the tough decision on June 1, 2019 to cut off Medicaid reimbursements to providers, directing all Medicaid beneficiaries to use the clinics of the CHCC until further notice. We received an additional $36 Million for Medicaid in the disaster supplemental H.R. 2157, but in just a month after disbursement, more than half of the funds were paid out to providers, many of which are still owed reimbursements. We know the positive impact that regular access to healthcare can have on a person's overall health--just as we know how much worse a medical event can be for an individual that no longer has regular access. For the Marianas, it is already difficult for people to get to their providers for their specific healthcare needs. The hold imposed on outpatient clinics is evidence that taking this funding away not only threatens low-income families, but everyone at all income levels. It is already happening, and Congress should act now. I thank Chairman Pallone, Ranking Member Walden, and all the members of the committee for understanding the urgency of the Medicaid crisis in the insular areas and addressing the issue in a bipartisan way. Let's bring H.R. 2328 to the floor and show that the House is united in our support for the Insular Areas. Let's fix the Medicaid funding cliff.
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