Study: PR still faces slow recovery, urgent need for reforms after hurricanes

By THE STAR STAFF

A new assessment by the RAND Corporation reveals that eight-plus years after hurricanes Maria and Irma devastated Puerto Rico, the island’s recovery remains uneven and faces deep-rooted challenges.

Commissioned by the Puerto Rican government in 2023, the study examined critical policy areas and offered recommendations to accelerate progress and build long-term resilience.

The report highlights two overarching goals: speeding up reconstruction and leveraging recovery efforts to create a stronger, more vibrant society. While some sectors have returned to pre-disaster norms, systemic issues persist across energy, health care, education, public safety and emergency preparedness.

Puerto Rico’s electric power system remains in crisis, with poor performance undermining economic growth and residents’ well-being. Accelerating improvements in grid reliability is deemed essential to avoid funding shortfalls and stabilize the economy, the report issued in December notes.

Other sectors, though operational, continue to struggle with long-standing deficiencies. Health care faces Medicare and Medicaid funding gaps and outdated electronic health records. Emergency preparedness and public safety suffer from staffing shortages and structural weaknesses. Meanwhile, the public education system is described as “in crisis,” plagued by poor student outcomes and an oversized, unreliable teaching workforce.

RAND urges prioritization of energy sector reforms to strengthen Puerto Rico’s fiscal position and enable broader improvements. Education reforms should focus on right-sizing the system and improving student-teacher ratios without requiring major new investments. Health care recommendations include targeting funding formula changes that uniquely disadvantage Puerto Rico and enhancing public health data collection.

Additional proposals call for ending the Puerto Rico Police Bureau’s consent decree, addressing recruitment and retention challenges in public safety, and shifting emergency management roles from political appointments to career civil service for greater stability.

The report underscores that while recovery has made strides, Puerto Rico must tackle entrenched issues to ensure resilience against future disasters.