Puerto Rico Senator Seeks Meeting With Paul Ryan to Discuss 'Health Emergency'

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A Puerto Rico Senator is seeking a meeting with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan concerning what the federal government is calling a looming "health emergency" on the island.

A potential dropoff of Medicaid funding in mid-2017 represents a potential fiscal cliff for the commonwealth, which is already in the midst of a financial crisis, the Puerto Rico government has said.

Sen. Ángel Martinez Santiago sent a letter Monday seeking the meeting. In it he said that Dennis Gonzalez, regional director of the East Region of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, advocates declaring a "health emergency" in Puerto Rico.

Martinez Santiago will be the chairman of the Puerto Rico Senate Health Committee when the newly elected group of Puerto Rico legislators convenes in January.

He is a member of the New Progressive Party led by Governor-Elect Ricardo Rossell-.

In 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act Puerto Rico received about $6.4 billion of federal funds to address those covered by the act. The money was supposed to last until Sept. 30, 2019.

Martinez Santiago said the funding may now run out in mid-2017. Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner-Elect Jenniffer González Col-n said in a letter to The Bond Buyer that the money is likely to run out in late 2017, but that "the problem is not a year away because Medicaid healthcare provider contracts for the year beginning July 1st need to be renegotiated." As resident commissioner, González Col-n will be Puerto Rico's nonvoting member in the U.S. Congress.

Martinez Santiago is seeking "to extend the benefits of Obamacare up to its original date of 2019."

Puerto Rico is treated differently with Medicaid than the states are treated and gets far less money than it would if it were a state, according to a story in PuertoRicoReport.com.

González Col-n said, "Equality for the Americans of Puerto Rico is my top priority. Healthcare inequality is the best example of the need."

Martinez Santiago requested to discuss the matter with Ryan "as soon as possible." On Wednesday a Ryan spokesperson said the speaker hadn't yet received the letter.

In her letter, González Col-n said that Puerto Rico's Medicaid funding was an urgent issue. Actions of both Gov. Alejandro García Padilla and President Barack Obama have led to the crisis, she said.

González Col-n said she had spoken about this issue with Ryan, Health and Human Services Secretary nominee and Rep. Tom Price, and other members of Congress.

"I am hopeful that the report of the Congressional Task Force on Economic Growth in Puerto Rico due this month will recommend action to avert the 2017 problem and recognize other deficiencies as well," she wrote.

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