Is it fair that U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico receive less in health care funds? According to the Federal Government, the lives of U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico are worth less. Puerto Rico receives $1.5 billion less in Medicare funds than it should receive, even though we pay the same taxes. This translates into health care services with fewer resources than those of any state. Health care in Puerto Rico is in crisis. Discrimination in health care funding must end.
This discrimination is reflected in reports from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). GAO reports show that Puerto Rico receives approximately $4.5 billion in Medicare funding. If U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico were not discriminated against for living on the island, they could receive about $6 billion in Medicare funding. This is a difference of $1.5 billion in available funds, a difference that adversely affects the quality of life of U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico.
If we don't stop the discrimination, the health care crisis in Puerto Rico will get worse. By 2020, Medicare beneficiaries in Puerto Rico will reach one million individuals. This is an increase of almost a quarter of a million people in about five years. Every day more and more U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico rely on Medicare for their health care. However, the federal government severely limits the funds available for Puerto Rico, discriminating against this at-risk population.
Discrimination against Puerto Rico's elderly is magnified if we compare the U.S. government's investment in the health care of U.S. citizens residing in other states. Medicare spends 37% less on the health care of U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico than U.S. citizens residing in West Virginia, and 57% less compared to U.S. citizens residing in Mississippi.