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Governor off to DC for NGA, other meetings
Gov. Eloy S. Inos will be off to Washington, D.C. for one-and-a-half weeks starting on Tuesday to attend the 2014 National Governors Association’s Winter Meeting and other meetings that impact the CNMI and other territories.
Press secretary Angel Demapan, who will be accompanying the governor in this trip, said Inos will also be attending a meeting of the Pacific Basin Development Council, which the CNMI is a member of.
PBDC members share mutual concerns about the applicability of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Among the specific issues is the Medicaid cap. Under the ACA, more funds were made available to increase the cap. However, because of the matching requirement, Guam and the CNMI do not necessarily have enough fiscal resources to provide matching funds in order to avail of the increased cap on Medicaid.
The governor will also be at the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Winter Meeting, as well as at the White House Interagency Group on Insular Affairs Meeting. The IGIA brings together federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of the Interior and governors of insular areas.
Demapan said at the IGIA, the governor is looking to share his concerns about the Affordable Care Act.
If there is an opportunity, the governor may also follow up on the CNMI’s request to extend the Commonwealth-only worker program.
