(Commonwealth Medicaid Agency) — On Dec. 21, 2020, the U.S. Congress passed an omnibus Covid relief bill that corrected a nearly 25-year error that unjustly excluded Compact of the Freely Association citizens residing in the United States, the District of Columbia or the territories from Medicaid. The omnibus bill was signed by then-President Donald Trump on Dec. 28, 2020 and is now law. The exclusion dates back to the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, commonly referred to as welfare reform, which changed the categories of persons eligible for certain federal safety-net programs including Medicaid.
On March 26, 2021, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres elected and certified the State Plan Amendment to cover FAS citizens residing in the CNMI.
The Commonwealth Medicaid Agency is pleased to inform CNMI residents who are citizens of the Freely Associated States under the Compact of Free Association that they may now be eligible for Medicaid.
This means citizens of the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap).
FAS citizen residing in the CNMI who wish to enroll in Medicaid must meet the income and resource criteria.
For more information, contact the Commonwealth Medicaid Agency office or visit it as soon as possible:
• Saipan: 664-4880/82/86/87/88 (Capital Hill Building # 1252)
Office Hours: Monday to Thursday – 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Closed on Fridays & government holidays)
• Tinian: 433-9233/263/333 (Tinian Health Center)
Office Hours: Monday to Friday – 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Closed on government holidays)
• Rota: 532-9641/62/63 ext. 264 (Rota Health Center)
Office Hours: Monday to Friday – 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Closed on government holidays)
