Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero today announced that legislation will be introduced to provide claims to war survivors.
With President Donald Trump’s signature on a federal disaster aid bill, the Federal Medicare Assistance Percentage program will completely fund Guam's Medicaid with 100 percent share under the Affordable Care Act for this year.
Guam was expected to come up with $5.6 million in local matching funds to access the remaining $47 million in Medicaid funding by Sept. 30, 2019.
The governor said it is an “opportune time” to take advantage of “redirecting and reprioritizing” the money that would have been used for the local cost share for Medicaid ACA funds.
“Our survivors are here, and they are slowly leaving us. It’s been 75 years of the liberation of these very courageous and very loving survivors, our manam’ko,” said Gov. Leon Guerrero. “I would like to give them the opportunity to be whole now by giving them the war claims before all of them are no longer with us.”
Legislation will be introduced by Speaker Tina Rose Muna Barnes to establish a war claims program for the island as local funds will be used to pay the survivors.
Descendants of survivors will have to wait as officials work with Congress to correct an error that would give Guam access to the war claims fund, that is being funded by Section 30.
“It is very urgent and very critical for me to see what we can do to pay the claims for the survivors and with this opportunity the President has made for us here on our island, I’m taking the opportunity and I’m giving it to the manam’ko,” said Leon Guerrero.
She said her office was committed to working with Congress and Congressman Michael San Nicolas to get descendants of survivors their claims.
