For Immediate Release
September 25, 2009 |
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A call to Ensure Health Care Parity for Puerto Rico
September 25, 2009
Honorable Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515 |
Honorable Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez
Washington, D.C. office
2466 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 |
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Honorable Senator Max Baucus
Office of Senator Baucus
United States Senate
511 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510 |
Honorable Senator Harry Reid
Office of Senator Reid
United States Senate
522 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510 |
Dear Congresswomen Pelosi, Velázquez and Senators Reid, Baucus:
The Latino Commission on AIDS and its partner organizations across the United States call on Congress to ensure health care parity for Puerto Rico. Residents of Puerto Rico, who have been United States citizens since 1917, have long been subjected to unequal and unjust treatment by the United States on an array of matters including legislation specific to health care, and recent activity around health care reform threatens to continue this disgraceful tradition.
Our organizations are joining forces with representatives of Puerto Rico's government to demand that legislation being drafted in Congress which threatens to once again leave Puerto Rico on the margins of health care funding be addressed.
Within the continental United States, the U.S. government covers at least 50% of the bill for Medicaid funding, but it arbitrarily caps the amount of Medicaid dollars it gives to Puerto Rico's Medicaid program. We, the undersigned, ask Congress to eliminate the "cap" on Medicaid funding. In 2008, the U.S. spent approximately $20 per Medicaid participant per month in Puerto Rico, compared to $330 per participant per month in the U.S.
In Puerto Rico, hospitals are grossly underfunded because they are denied equal federal dollars. This affects the quality of care to the point that islanders must often travel to states at their own expense for medical treatment.
The inequity in funding and services to Puerto Rico has a shameful impact on the most vulnerable populations, from those living with HIV to its senior citizens. Even military veterans in Puerto Rico are subjected to substandard health benefits. This is a shameful way to repay those who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pending health reform legislation in Congress could exclude low-income Puerto Ricans from affordable health care options and this is unacceptable. Members of Congress and the Senate should equally fight for the rights of Puerto Ricans who pay taxes like every other U.S. Citizen and deserve parity in funding.
It is our hope that Congress will address our concerns and do the right thing for Puerto Rico and it's U.S. citizens.
Sincerely,
Guillermo Chacon
Interum Executive Director
New York, NY
Latino Commission on AIDS |
Oscar Raúl López
Director of Health Policy
New York, NY
Latino Commission on AIDS |
cc: 111th Members of Congress
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