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 The House Committee on Energy and Commerce agreed to several
accountability measures linked to a $12 billion funding boost over
four years for the low-income healthcare program in Puerto Rico. A
group of Republican U.S. senators, meanwhile, sought information on
whether any safeguards are in place to deter misuse of the island's
federal Medicaid dollars.
Last week, Angela Avila-Marrero, former executive director of Puerto
Rico's Health Insurance Administration, pleaded not guilty to
conspiracy and other charges related to her role in an alleged
scheme to steal federal Medicaid dollars through a corrupt bidding
process with private contractors. The charges were part of a
32-count indictment brought by U.S. law enforcement officials
against six people in a government corruption probe.
The House committee adopted an amendment proposed by U.S.
Representative Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican, that added
provisions for federal audits and probes of contracts related to
Puerto Rico's Medicaid program, as well as a quarterly reporting
requirement on how much of the money was spent.
"The legislation we are moving forward with today ensures that
Puerto Rico Medicaid beneficiaries get the care they need while
improving transparency, accountability, and integrity of the program
that will help prevent this type of fraudulent activity from
happening again,” Walden said in a statement.
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U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and other
Republican senators requested detailed information on Puerto Rico's
Medicaid funding levels and measures related to transparency and
accountability from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS).
"The recent and unfortunate allegations concerning misuse of public
funds in Puerto Rico’s health system, along with an ongoing lack of
transparency in the government of Puerto Rico, raises important
questions as Congress once again faces decisions on federal Medicaid
funding for Puerto Rico," the senators said in a letter to HHS
Secretary Alex Azar.
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello, who has resisted calls for
his resignation over government corruption and controversial leaked
group text messages, said on Tuesday that
he welcomes greater federal oversight as long as it does not slow
the flow of federal money to the island.
Protests against the governor have erupted daily in Puerto Rico,
which filed a form of bankruptcy in 2017.
(Reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago; Additional reporting by Luis
Valentin Ortiz in San Juan; Editing by Matthew Lewis
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