Damages from last year’s hurricanes can still be seen all over the place in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It has also led to massive cuts in the healthcare sector that would affect more than a million needy families. However, efforts by the government to push $840.2 million in yearly savings from Medicaid by the year 2023 are now in their primal stage. The down surge of this levy is optimal to the U.S territory agreement with the federal government amidst. This comes at a time when the island is trying to recover from the climatic disasters. After the disaster, Puerto Rico got a debt of close to 70 billion dollars. This is primarily because of the territory’s ancient astronomical Medicaid costs.
The island hosts islanders who earn an average of $20,000 on an annual basis and diabetes and hypertension are the common diseases. However, government representatives, physicians, and health insurers confirm that the cuts are not helping the population. This is because according to actuarial scientists the community cannot develop based on the salary they are getting. Such moves would instigate the companies to drop patients with chronic diseases. It will be common especially in the private sector. Moreover, the government will do nothing to help sort the situation, which is the vital reason for the poor health condition in Puerto Rico.
The funds originate from the federal government. The island receives a small percentage of the funds compared to other 50 states in the United States. One Dr Jaime Torres said that they were reshuffling the chairs from the Titanic. Also, some nurses like Eileen Calderon, who took care of the chronically ill patients were laid off as health plans have also been laid off. Dr Jose Joaquin Vargas, the chief medical advisor for VarMed said that the people had been their patients for the last four years, and that abandoning them like that is uncouth.
Furthermore, in the case that Puerto Rico was a state, the US federal government would make a payment of 86% of Medicaid costs. It is standard for the federal government to pay up to 70 percent of Medicaid costs in ten states as per a formula that incorporates the state accounts. Hence, due to the 1968 law capping the total figure, Medicaid money is paid by the federal government. It ranges between 18 and 19 percent as a fixed payment. It is also known as a block grant. In February, Congress released $4.8 billion in funds to pay Medicaid bills.
