(Bloomberg) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called on Congress to boost health care funding for Puerto Rico that could help the government pay down its $73 billion debt that has it hurdling toward fiscal doom.
The two Democrats appeared together Thursday at a rally of thousands in San Juan, the U.S. island territory's capital, arranged by the Puerto Rico Healthcare Crisis Coalition, a group of doctors, hospitals and insurers.
The rally was part of a wider call on Congress, which includes President Barack Obama, that so far has failed to help with a rapidly escalating fiscal crisis that may cause Puerto Rico's government to run out of cash this month. Obama and Puerto Rico officials have asked federal lawmakers to allow some agencies to file for bankruptcy and boost funding for health care programs, requests that haven't advanced for lack of Republican support.
Cuomo told reporters in San Juan that Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla will join him and union leaders in New York for a summit in the coming weeks where they'll begin a national campaign to draw attention to the commonwealth's woes.
"Adequate federal funding is absolutely necessary to avoid the impending humanitarian crisis and I urge the U.S. government to help us achieve fairness and parity for Puerto Rico," Cuomo said in an e-mailed statement.
A boost in funding, particularly for health care, could help improve Puerto Rico's cash flow and prevent a program that provides coverage to the elderly from collapsing, according to the coalition. About 60 percent of the island's population receives health care coverage through the federal programs for the poor and elderly, according to the coalition. The Medicaid program receives a reimbursement rate that's 70 percent lower than any mainland U.S. state and a Medicare rate that's 40 percent lower, the coalition says.
