Commerce Secretary Michael Ada said he met with President Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and 32 National Association of Insurance commissioners in Washington, D.C. last week.
Ada, who is also the CNMI’s insurance commissioner, said the meeting discussed the Health Care Reform Act.
He said the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which arranged the meeting, invited him and Guam insurance commissioner John Camacho.
During previous meetings with federal authorities, Ada said he aired concerns about the territories being asked to implement the Affordable Care Act without any of the resources made available to the 50 states and the nation’s capital.
In response to this concern, Health and Human Services opened a grant opportunity for the insular areas. This grant allows the CNMI and other Pacific insurance commissioners to tap a $1 million grant to conduct rate reviews, Ada said.
Noting the “tremendous amount of vagueness” as to how the affordable care rules apply to the insular areas, Ada said he and other insular area insurance commissioner expressed their concerns to Obama.
Ada said, “We have seen a strong response from the federal government.”
The implementation of the key provisions of the ACA started on Thursday last week.
Some of its key provisions include dependent coverage up to the age of 26, restrictions on denials for pre-existing conditions, and prohibitions on recessions of policies.
“The dialogue centered on the challenges of implementing the ACA. Many of the insurance commissioners throughout the 50 states and D.C. have been able to work closely with DHHS,” Ada said.
Commerce Deputy Secretary Sixto Igisomar said they will apply for the full $1 million grant which has no local matching requirement.
“With this money, we intend to hire four employees and contract out professional services for information technology requirements for rate review,” Igisomar said.
