Puerto Rico is the oldest and most populous United States territory. The island’s present-day Medicaid program, the Government Health Insurance Plan, was established in 1993. Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program—along with its health system in general—has faced substantial challenges even before Hurricane Maria struck in 2017. These include fiscal problems due to Puerto Rico’s capped Medicaid allotment, access issues due to outmigration of health professionals, and damaged or limited health care infrastructure.
In the report accompanying fiscal year 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations (P.L. 115-245), the House Committee on Appropriations asked MACPAC to examine options for ensuring long-term sustainable access to health care for Medicaid beneficiaries in Puerto Rico. MACPAC asked Angela Avila, executive director of Puerto Rico’s Administración de Seguros de Salud, Orlando Gonzalez, president of the managed care organization MMM Healthcare, and Gloria Del C. Amador, chief executive officer of the federally qualified health center Salud Integral en la Montaña, Inc., to discuss challenges and opportunities for Medicaid in the commonwealth. No slides are available from this presentation.