PRFAA insists Puerto Rico will not suffer cuts in Medicaid

Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration Executive Director Gabriella Boffelli

By The Star Staff

Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) Executive Director Gabriella Boffelli said Monday the U.S. territory will not suffer cuts in its Medicaid program, which benefits half of the island’s population of 3 million.

House Republicans released legislative text Sunday evening of a key portion of their party-line agenda bill that includes cuts and other changes to Medicaid, a contentious issue in trying to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda that will negatively impact millions of beneficiaries.

“The House Energy and Commerce Committee published the legislative text on the issues under its jurisdiction to be included in the reconciliation bill,” Boffelli said. “As we indicated, it does not include cuts to the Medicaid program for Puerto Rico. The committee is expected to evaluate and vote on the measure tomorrow, Tuesday.”

Since budget conversations began, Boffelli said, Gov. Jenniffer González Colón and her team in Washington, D.C. have maintained direct communications with members of Congress and with the House and Senate committees regarding funding for the Medicaid program for Puerto Rico.

“We are committed to protecting these funds secured by the governor during her tenure as resident commissioner,” she said.

The congressional committees, she said, “clearly understand the funding challenges facing Puerto Rico and are aware that more than half of our population depends on this program.”

“The legislative process continues to evolve, and PRFAA remains vigilant in following these discussions,” Boffelli said.

The office of Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández Rivera said it will be issuing its own statement.

The legislation released by the Energy and Commerce Committee heads to a markup Tuesday afternoon, and includes a 160-page section covering health care and Medicaid.

The bill would make a slew of Medicaid spending reductions through policies such as stricter eligibility verification, citizenship checks, tougher screenings on providers who get reimbursements and federal Medicaid funding cuts to states that offer coverage to residents living in the U.S. illegally.

The bill also seeks to impose work requirements to receive Medicaid for able-bodied adults from ages 19 to 64 without dependents, demanding they work at least 80 hours -- or perform 80 hours of community service or other programs -- per month. It includes exceptions for pregnant women and short-term hardship waivers in limited cases.

It does not include some of the most aggressive provisions that had caused intraparty tension, such as per capita limits on Medicaid spending and increasing the state burden for covering the Medicaid population.

“When so many Americans who are truly in need rely on Medicaid for life-saving services, Washington can’t afford to undermine the program further by subsidizing capable adults who choose not to work,” Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), the committee chairman, wrote in the Wall Street Journal, making his case for the bill.. That’s why our bill would implement sensible work requirements.”

Guthrie said he expects “fear-mongering” attacks on the legislation, but maintained that it “preserves and strengthens Medicaid for children, mothers, people with disabilities and the elderly, for whom the program was designed.”

Democrats circulated a letter from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office with a preliminary analysis finding that the health care portion of the bill would cut spending by $715 billion and would “reduce the number of people with health insurance by at least 8.6 million in 2034.”