Congresswoman Aumua Amata Radewagen’ soffice refutes charges by American Samoa’s Medicaid chief that Radewagen to effectively fight for more Medicaid funding for the territory, and is compromised by GOP efforts to cut Medicaid funding.
KHJ News Washington correspondent Matt Kaye reports—
The Congresswoman’s office stresses, Radewagen’s positions has “ALWAYS” been to get Medicaid funding for American Samoa on par with that of the states.
A spokesman for Amata says in response to criticism of her efforts by the American Samoa Medicaid Director King Young, that Radewagen started fighting for state-level Medicaid funding the day she first arrived in Congress—and hasn’t stopped since.
Young charged recently that Radewagen is towing the GOP party line to cut Medicaid, as part of the Republican effort to repeal Obamacare.
Answering Amata’s earlier claim that it’s hard to get new Medicaid funding from Congress until American Samoa spends down $189-million remaining under Obamacare, Young turned the argument into a political one.
She argued, Gov. Lolo was hiring a lobbyist to press for more Medicaid money, and part of the reason was because of Radewagen’s precarious position with her party…and that Radewagen needs to fight, not just for more Obamacare Medicaid funds, but regular Medicaid.
But Amata’s office says her push for a better Medicaid formula for the islands has never stopped. And it has involved members of both parties.
The Congresswoman has worked with Democratic and GOP delegates to press House leaders for island Medicaid relief that could boost funding for LBJ Hospital by millions.
Radewagen joined her colleagues in the last Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to include state-level funding for the islands in the Puerto Rico debt relief bill—“PROMESA.”
Amata then introduced an amendment to the first GOP health care reform bill in this Congress, but it was ruled out of order, on procedural grounds.
The amendment was a collaboration by all the island delegates, who agreed Radewagen as a Republican, close to House leadership, would have more success getting leaders to address island health care needs.
The Congresswoman meantime is a cosponsor of separate Medicaid-parity legislation that would also extend Medicaid funding provided in Obamacare.
But Radewagen said after recent setbacks, House leaders assured her, the islands will “have a seat at the table” on Medicaid, in the upcoming reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program—‘S-CHIP.’
Radewagen says she’ll reintroduce her amendment when‘S-CHIP’ is brought up.
The program provides funds to states and territories for families that have children, but may not qualify for Medicaid.
