Puerto Rico has 47 percent of poverty level.

The DSH money, for the knowledge of the Members, is disproportionate share hospital segment.

How does the unequal treatment under the Medicaid program and the fact that we are losing a lot of our people every year--how does the Government of Puerto Rico have the ability to budget for, modernize, and reform our healthcare system if…

I trust that today's testimonies will help my colleagues understand the urgent need for action.

more than half a million American citizens living in Puerto Rico, they are not covered by Medicaid full programs as they were in the states just because of the lack of funding

So, the Oversight Board required to the island to include all future plans regarding health care. And that means, if we don't receive the money, the state, in this case Puerto Rico, needs to put up front the money from the state to do the…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And before my time commences, I want to ask unanimous consent to put in the record a memorandum of the Medicaid financing in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands made by the Kaiser Foundation.

I am willing, as the Representative of Puerto Rico, to work across the aisle to reach a long-term solution for the territories.

If we fail to act with the expediency that the situation requires, the provision of health care in all territories will be severely affected.

And I commend Mr. Soto for always being an original co-sponsor of all those bills.

You get the gold star for today. Very impressive.

That is the reason the FMAP, the formula for the matching funds, needs to be changed.

I have introduced H.R. 2306, the Puerto Rico Medicaid Act, which seeks to strengthen the Medicaid program on the island.

Unless Congress acts, we will be faced with potentially catastrophic damage to our Medicaid program and our healthcare system.

increasing the FMAP and removing the cap will definitely help all the territories.

In the case of Puerto Rico, as an example, you can have Mississippi and many other states receiving more than $7,000 per enrollee and less than $2,000 to our territory.

I am also an original co-sponsor of H.R. 1354, the Territories Health Equity Act, legislation introduced by Congresswoman Plaskett.

Approximately 600,000 lives. And that will be if we can keep the program viable for Puerto Rico.