Attention: Healthcare Access Before Nationhood Talk

Before we plan for nationhood in the future, may we sit down with our people and address the urgent fatal issue about COFA citizens’ Healthcare Access.

There are changes coming for our COFA citizens’ public healthcare assistance that is potentially disruptive, especially for our vulnerable citizens. Many factors beyond our control such as time, protocols, and logistical challenges could make for very confusing and mix messages and misinformation. And that can easily turn this transition into a major disaster..BUT we can continue to advocate and push for fairness for the long run and towards other broader justice issue. NOW, having said that, we must be aggressive in bringing our current COFA citizens to understand and be aware of what they are getting and exactly how much they will be paying. Let us help our people. May of you college and high school students are off for 2 weeks, so, please help your family members who are affected by the change. LET US DO OUR PART. Let’s work together as MICRONESIANS today to get meaningful healthcare for our citizens living and working in Hawaii.

Our advocacy groups and partners are holding the next brainstorming session on:

TUESDAY 12/23/14 @6:00 P.M. KPT Room 103……FEEL FREE TO JOIN US.

If you are a COFA citizen living in Hawaii and you are receiving public assistance for healthcare through Medquest, your assistance under this program will be terminated March 1, 2015. However, there are only two exempt groups of COFA citizens who can continue to remain eligible for Medquest:

Pregnant women and children 18 years old and under; and
Aged (65 years and older) and Disabled.

All other COFA Quest clients have been given an option to sign up for healthcare coverage on the Hawaii Health Connector (HHC). State of Hawaii will provide assistance for COFA citizen who opt to sign up for this program. Since there is no official title for the program, I wish to christen it COFA-Health-Connector Option Program (CHOP). CHOP will give COFA citizens 7 health coverage plans (or CHOP-7). We will delve more in the details of the plans during enrollment.

So, if you are a Quest recipient but are not within those two exempt categories, please seek assistance to sign up on the Hawaii Healthcare Connector before February 15 in order for you to start receiving healthcare assistance under this new program after March 1, 2015, the cutoff date for Medquest. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL LAST MINUTE.