AARP Board Member Seeks Equality for VI

The cry for health care reform rose to a crescendo before last fall’s presidential election. Since the arrival of the Obama Administration, health care reform has been front and center. Even now, Congress is hammering out legislation.

AARP, with other organizations, is galvanizing public support for reform, insisting that our leaders respond to the people’s demand for affordable, accessible health care. AARP is firmly committed to improving health care – not just for older Americans, but for all Americans.
 
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the stakes are even higher because our health care benefits are not comparable to the states. In many important respects, we lack equality, or parity. The greatest inequality is the limit, or cap, placed on our federal funding for Medicaid. It’s a very low cap. As a result, many individuals who would be eligible for Medicaid if they lived on the mainland can’t participate in the program – there’s not enough money to cover them. No state is capped like the U.S. Virgin Islands.
 
Like the states, we’re also challenged by the staggering burden of costly, inefficient health care. Many Virgin Islanders, 50-64 years of age find health care inaccessible and unaffordable, and our hospitals continue to absorb millions more in uncompensated costs as people seek primary care in emergency rooms.
 
I have written to the President to ask that health care reform treats us as all other citizens.  AARP has been consistent in its support of this position.  We hope, together, we can get Congress and the White House to treat us equally under all federal health care programs.
 
This must be our position regarding the U.S. Virgin Islands and we must not be shy. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets oiled. Speak out!
 
Health care reform is critical for everyone. AARP’s St. John Chapter 4777 recently raised AARP’s Health Action Now campaign banner during a local parade – sharing information, talking to media, and encouraging people to stand for reform and ignore falsehoods and misinformation.
 
But we must also use our power as U.S. citizens to stand for dramatic change right here and demand an end to the health care inequalities in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
 
As the U.S. Congress makes strides toward health reform, Delegate Donna Christensen has pushed for significant changes in the U.S. House of Representatives to improve our status, but she must hear from us to take our voice to the House.
 
We must say clearly that removing the Medicaid cap and addressing other health care inequalities is imperative. U.S. Virgin Islanders demand the same full benefits that health care reform will bring to Americans in the states.
 
To contact Del. Christensen’s go online {www.donnachristensen.house.gov}, call her offices, 340/778-5900, St. Croix, and 340/774-4408, St. Thomas, or send letters to insist on health care equality for the U.S. Virgin Islands.