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Nuclear Weapons, Frontline Communities, and the COVID Stimulus. What You Need to Know. Union of Concerned Scientists, LILLY ADAMS GUEST COMMENTARY, UCS | MAY 4, 2020 Medicaid for COFA Communities

“…………The Marshall Islands is one of three countries under the Compacts of Free Association (COFA), which allows citizens of these countries to live and work in the US in exchange for the US military’s exclusive use of and access to these nation’s lands, airspace, and waters. COFA was also supposed to give these communities access to federal benefits, including Medicaid. But in 1996, Medicaid was stripped from COFA communities in what has been called an “oversight.”

In the face of an international pandemic, this “oversight” is made all the more severe. Even before the pandemic, studies are showing that in COFA communities, higher death rates are associated with the loss of Medicaid after 1996. Today, data shows that Pacific Islanders in the US, including the Marshallese, are contracting COVID-19 at rates two to three times higher than other Americans.

On the importance of addressing this issue in the stimulus now, David Anitok, Project Coordinator at COFA Alliance National Network of WA (CANN-WA) said, “Timing is highly crucial and far too many people are dying that could’ve been prevented had everyone had health equity access and resources.”

There is also a simple solution for this oversight: bills have been introduced in Congress to restore Medicaid to COFA communities – HR 4821 and S.2218.  Already, nearly 300 organizations across the country have supported this effort. In light of the pandemic, there is no time to wait. Congress should include the provisions to reinstate Medicaid for COFA Residents in a future stimulus package.

I am constantly inspired by the advocates in these communities. Even before the pandemic, they stared death in the face every day. Those who have survived are fighters, working tirelessly for the care they deserve, battling illness after illness, yet miraculously maintaining their compassion, community, and resilience. They attend too many funerals; they wonder if their government is simply waiting for them all to die. Now facing a pandemic, there is no more time to wait. It’s time for Congress to act.     https://allthingsnuclear.org/guest-commentary/covid-19-nuclear-weapons