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Affordable Care Act programs close doors
Following news of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administration’s decision to reassess the applicability of the Affordable Care Act in the CNMI and other insular territories, the Consumer Assistance Program and Rate Review Office announced the closure of their offices due to the loss of federal funds. Both programs were funded exclusively by federal grant money that must now be returned to the federal government.
In a July 16 letter addressed to Insurance Commissioner Sixto K. Igisomar, CMS ordered that “all unspent grant funding must be returned to CMS, because the interpretation of the law making the territories eligible to expend such funds is no longer in place.”
Although some parts of the law still do apply, updated guidance for health insurance issuers and employers has yet to be disclosed, though Igisomar expects that this news will allow enough leniency for insurance issuers to begin accepting new applicants into health care coverage soon.
Three staff members at the Department of Commerce are affected by the loss of funding and closure of programs. CAP advocacy officer Kaitlyn Neises is disappointed that the 1-year-old program she helped to establish will disappear.
“It’s unfortunate that our funding was cut just as we were becoming a trusted source of information and assistance for the community. When we began work last August, very little was known about the ACA in the CNMI and we put in a lot of hard work over the last year to understand the law and educate the public and our local leaders on both the positive and negative effects of the ACA in the CNMI,” said Neises. “The funding cut was so abrupt that we didn’t have time to properly transfer services to another organization.”
For questions regarding health insurance, consumers may call the Insurance Division at (670) 664-3064 and ask for Charlette C. Borja, insurance licensing officer, or the Insurance Commissioner through the Administrative Office at (670) 664-3077. (Office of the Governor)
