Puerto Rico Health Care
[Editor’s Note: The bipartisan spending plan was approved by Congress and signed into law by the President on December 29, 2022. Read CCF’s brief to learn more.] The bipartisan omnibus appropriations bill, which was unveiled early this morning by the Senate Appropriations Committee, would avert the dire Medicaid fiscal cliff facing Puerto Rico and the […]
On November 19, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, the budget reconciliation bill, with the Senate expected to consider the legislation in coming weeks. The Build Back Better Act includes numerous provisions that would dramatically strengthen and expand both public and private health insurance coverage. Some of the new provisions […]
Editor’s Note: On July 21, 2021, the full House Energy and Commerce Committee, by voice vote, reported the bipartisan bill (H.R. 4406) to temporarily extend federal Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico and the other territories and avert the fiscal cliff. On Thursday, July 15, 2021, the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee […]
My new paper for the Commonwealth Fund analyzes how Puerto Rico’s Medicaid block grant financing contributed to Puerto Rico’s overall fiscal and debt crisis and resulted in a Medicaid program that is far less generous than what is provided in the states. Puerto Rico’s experience thus offers critical lessons to federal and state policymakers about […]
On July 11, by voice vote, the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee reported out essential legislation (H.R. 3631) to avert large federal Medicaid funding shortfalls the territories will face starting in 2020. Without additional federal funding the bill would provide, the territories would have no choice but to institute damaging cuts […]
As we wrote last year, Congress should consider making permanent changes to Puerto Rico’s federal Medicaid financing structure to ensure the long-term viability of its Medicaid program. This includes eliminating Puerto Rico’s federal funding cap over time, raising the federal matching rate and requiring fuller compliance with the same federal Medicaid requirements that now apply […]
