Skip to main content
 

Soto, Bilirakis Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Provide Increased Financial Support to Puerto Rico and Other U.S. Territories Under the Medicaid Program

July 15, 2021

H.R. 4406, the Supporting Medicaid in the U.S. Territories Act will be considered in the Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee today at 11 a.m. EDT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On July 13, 2021, Reps. Darren Soto (D-FL-09) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12) introduced H.R. 4406, the Supporting Medicaid in the U.S. Territories Act of 2021 to provide five years of Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico and eight years of funding for other U.S. territories. The bill is scheduled to be marked up by the Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee today, July 15, 2021, at 11 a.m. EDT.

"For far too long, Puerto Rico's health system has operated with uncertainty regarding its Medicaid system," said Congressman Soto. "This has led to a breakdown in healthcare and eroding of hospitals there. This steady funding will be foundational for building Puerto Rico's healthcare system back better."

Last week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce announced the bipartisan agreement to avert the fiscal cliff. The agreement extends increased funding and Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) levels for five years for Puerto Rico and eight years for the U.S. territories at current FMAP levels (76 percent FMAP for Puerto Rico and 83 percent FMAP for Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa). The agreement also includes several improvements to Puerto Rico's Medicaid program:

· A report on Puerto Rico's progress on reporting quality measures in Medicaid;

· Full implementation of asset verification for Medicaid beneficiaries by the end of Fiscal Year 2024;

· Maintaining a 70 percent Medicare payment floor for Medicaid providers; and

· New contract reforms that would require contracts above a certain threshold to be competitively bid.

H.R. 4406 is co-sponsored by Reps. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico), Michael F.Q. San Nicolas (D-Guam), Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands), and Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands).

For the full text of the bill, please click here.