#HEALTH NEWS NOVEMBER 1, 2017 / 12:21 PM / UPDATED 19 HOURS AGO

Puerto Rico seeks help as Medicaid crisis deepens after Maria

Roberta Rampton, Robin Respaut
5 MIN READ

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Puerto Rico, still reeling from Hurricane Maria, is asking the Trump administration and U.S. lawmakers for help in staving off a Medicaid crisis that has put a quarter of the island’s residents at risk of losing medical care.

The territory, which has grappled for years with shortfalls in funding of its Medicaid healthcare program, is on track to run out of money to pay doctors and hospitals by early next year, leaving as many as 900,000 low-income Puerto Ricans without care.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello has asked Washington to waive the territory’s share of Medicaid costs - a step that could cost hundreds of millions. Last week, Rossello returned with another request: an infusion of $1.6 billion per year for at least five years.

A dozen Democratic senators have raised the issue with the Trump administration. Republican Senator Marco Rubio has also expressed support, saying the Medicaid woes could hasten an exodus from the island, though he has not yet taken a position on specific proposals.

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