Governor Josh Green, MD | Governor’s Office – Press Release – Governor Green Accepts $15.8 Million Federal

HONOLULU, HI – Governor Josh Green, MD, has accepted a Compact Impact grant of $15,798,564 for fiscal year 2023 from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Undersecretary for Insular and International Affairs, Carmen G. Cantor. Federal funding will help defray the state’s costs to provide services to citizens of freely associated states who live in Hawaiʻi.

“We welcome this generous support from the federal government to help care for our brothers and sisters in other Pacific Islands,” Governor Green said. “We are an ʻohana and as Governor, I am committed to helping Hawaiians access the services they need. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen Pacific Islanders disproportionately hard hit, with the worst rate of infections, despite making up only 4% of our population,” Governor Green said.

“I was pleased to meet with Governor Green and reaffirm the Interior’s continued commitment to working with the State of Hawai’i regarding Compact impact issues,” said the Secretary. Island and International Affairs Assistant, Carmen G. Cantor.

The State Department of Human Services has been a strong advocate for Hawaiian residents of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, who are members of the Compact of Free Association (COFA). The department recognizes the barriers to accessing quality health care that this community has faced and in December 2020, Congress reinstated Medicaid eligibility for U.S. residents of these countries.

In the state’s 2022 fiscal year, approximately 16,300 members of the COFA population residing in Hawai’i received medical insurance coverage or premium assistance.

“Hawai’i is the beneficiary of the diversity and cultural richness added by our Pacific Island neighbors from these Federal Covenant nations,” said Cathy Betts, director of the state’s Department of Human Services (DHS). “This grant continues to strengthen our commitment to providing access to lifesaving medical insurance coverage. Many of our Pacific Island neighbors in these nations, like other communities, are suffering the effects of social drivers of health. C This is why maintaining available access to medical insurance coverage is critical,” she said.

Eligibility for many safety net programs for these Pacific Islanders was cut short due to the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, which Hawaii’s congressional delegation worked to fix.

The COFA treaties were first signed into law by then-President Ronald Reagan and allowed citizens of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to travel to the United States without time limits or obligations. to obtain visas. The treaties recognize U.S. responsibility to those nations for activities, including nuclear testing from 1946 to 1958.

The transfer of funds to the state is expected in a few days.

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Media contacts:

Erika Engle
Press officer
Governor’s office
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: (808) 586-0120

Makana McClellan
Communications Director
Governor’s Office
E-mail: [email protected]
Cell: (808) 265-0083