Health Insurance Forum

Guam prepares for health reform

by mahir on 21/04/10 at 5:14 am

Senators, doctors and health agency officials were among those who attended yesterday’s public discussion at the Legislature.

The hearing was held by Sen. Frank Aguon and the legislative health committee to help shed light on the implications of President’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which aims to provide coverage to most Americans, among other sweeping Guam health insurance provisions.

Among the changes are yearly incremental federal funding increases to Medicaid, a health insurance program financed and run jointly by the federal and state governments for low-income people of all ages who do not have the money or insurance to pay for health care.

The federal government provides 55 percent of Medicaid funding for Guam, and this year, that amounts to $13.7 million. In order to make use of the federal funding, the government of Guam must provide a 45 percent matching share, Theresa Archangel, Public Health administrator for Medicaid and the Medically Indigent Program, said.

Under the new law, the Medicaid cap for Guam will increase to about $24 million next fiscal year and to $42 million in fiscal 2012. Those increases will continue to $58 million in 2019.

While the additional funding means more people could be eligible for Medicaid-funded health services, private doctors and public health officials questioned whether the local government can provide its Medicaid share.

GovGuam regularly has trouble paying vendors for goods and services on time, which has led some health-care providers and suppliers to cut off service.

Dr. Thomas Shieh, president-elect of the Guam Medical Association, said Guam’s leaders need to prioritize health care, and that means providing what’s needed for patients and the professionals who care for them.

If Gov Guam fails to do so, Shieh said that could lead to Guam missing out on available federal dollars.