COFA Health Coverage Urged
The U.S. Department of the Interior met with leaders of the Marshalls, Federated States and Palau to talk about insurance options for Micronesians.
Access to quality health care continues to be a priority for many Micronesians living in the United States as part of the Compact of Free Association.
On Thursday Interior Department officials met in Washington, D.C., with government representatives from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau as well as community leaders from across the mainland to discuss health care coverage option.
The goal, according to a press release, was toÌýencourage citizens of the Freely Associated States — as the COFA nations are called — who live in the 50 U.S. states to enroll in health insurance plans available under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
While COFA residents are not permitted to receive federal public benefits like Medicare,Ìý“the ACA does provide FAS citizens the opportunity to obtain health care coverage in the absence of public health assistance programs.ÌýHealth care access is critical to improving quality of life for these communities living in the United States,” saidÌýAssistant Secretary for Insular Areas Esther Kiaaina, a Hawaii native.
WhileÌýthe press release did not mention it, the status of Obamacare has taken on new urgency with Donald Trump’s election as president and the vow of him and the Republican-controlled Congress to repeal it.
AÌýCensus Bureau estimate usingÌý2010-2014 data says there are 41,380 COFA citizens from the FSM, RMI and Palau living in the 50 states, “a number which does not include U.S. citizens from the FAS.”
Civil Beat’s own research suggests the number could be as high as 75,000, and it is a growing number, given the economic, educational, health and environmental challenges in the COFA nations.
The five states with the highest number of FAS citizens, says Interior, are Hawaii (17,205), Arkansas (3,625), Washington (3,430), Oregon (2,580) and Texas (2,090).ÌýThe Hawaii figure counts only non-U.S. citizens; another 275 are citizens.
“Another 19,830 FAS nationals are estimated to be living in the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands according to a Census enumeration derived from the 2010 Census,” says the press release.
Said Kiaaina, “The recent estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau for FAS citizens living in the 50 states will be helpful to policy makers in federal agencies and the U.S. Congress who may be considering proposals and cost estimates to reinstate federal public benefits to these communities to alleviate financial costs on impacted jurisdictions.”
