Washington, D.C. -- Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) today introduced the Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act aimed at improving access to and the quality of healthcare for indigenous people and racial and ethnic minorities. These groups often lack access and suffer disproportionately from certain diseases.

According to Senator Akaka, there is a need for more comprehensive diabetes awareness education efforts targeted at communities with Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander populations, which is included in the bill.

Senator Akaka stated, "There is another provision in this bill is of extreme importance to the State of Hawaii, taken from legislation that my colleague from Hawaii, Senator Inouye, has introduced. The provision would provide a 100 percent Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) of health care costs of Native Hawaiians who receive health care from Federally Qualified Health Centers or the Native Hawaiian Health Care System. This would provide similar treatment for Native Hawaiians as already granted to Native Alaskans by the Indian Health Service or tribal organizations."

This bill would also restore Medicaid eligibility for Freely Associated States (FAS) citizens in the United States. The political relationship between the United States and the FAS is based on mutual support. FAS citizens are allowed to freely enter the United States. They come to seek economic opportunity, education, and health care. Unfortunately, FAS citizens lost many of their public benefits as a result of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) of 1996, including Medicaid coverage. FAS citizens were previously eligible for Medicaid.

After the enactment of PRWORA, the State of Hawaii was informed that it could not claim federal matching funds for services rendered to FAS citizens. Since then, the State of Hawaii, and the territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) have continued to incur substantial costs to meet the health care needs of FAS citizens that have immigrated to these areas.

Senator Akaka said, "The federal government must provide federal resources to help states meet the healthcare needs of the FAS citizens that have been brought about by a federal commitment. It is inequitable for a state or territory to be responsible for all of the financial burden of providing necessary social services to individuals that are residing there due to a federal commitment."

Joining Senator Akaka in introducing the Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act were Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Jon Corzine (D-NJ), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ed Kennedy (D-MA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Dan Inouye (D-HI), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Barack Obama (D-IL), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), and Hillary Clinton (D-NY).