This FAQ is part of a series answering questions about implementation of Medicaid for eligible Compact of Free Association (COFA) persons and advocacy opportunities at the federal, state and local levels.
Health care restored for COFA citizens in December 2020 Omnibus COVID Relief Bill. The restoration of Medicaid eligibility to COFA citizens became effective on December 28, 2020. As of that date, COFA citizens lawfully residing under the Compacts in the 50 states and District of Columbia, and at the option of the Governor of Puerto…
I am writing you, as you develop the highly needed next phases of COVID-19 response legislation, to ask that you include in it the bipartisan Covering Our FAS Allies Act (COFA Act, H.R. 4821 and S.2218). We appreciate that the Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act (H.R. 6379) did include this measure, though we…
Due to existing restrictions in federal law, millions of immigrants are ineligible for Medicaid and other public health insurance programs. For example, individuals living in the U.S. under the Compacts of Free Association with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau are categorically ineligible for Medicaid, as are…
As organizations, businesses and community groups working to remove barriers to healthy living, we urge Congress to fix a legislative oversight that has led to inequitable access to health care for thousands of Pacific Islanders in the United States. Since the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), people residing in…
The United States has international treaty agreements, known as the Compacts of Free Association (COFA), with three Pacific Island nations – the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Citizens of these nations, which are known as the Freely Associated States (FAS), are eligible to freely enter…
COFA Citizens And Our National Security Since 1986, the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) have defined the relationship between the United States and the independent governments of the Freely Associated States (FAS) including the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. Under the Compact, in exchange for…
At a time of shifting priorities and constantly changing news, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum invites you to join a brief webinar for an update on health care policy at the federal level. The webinar will cover where the Affordable Care Act stands post attempts to repeal it and what is ahead…
As organizations that care deeply about improving the health of Pacific Islanders, we write in support of the Covering our FAS Allies (COFA) Act. We believe that Congress must restore Medicaid coverage for communities lawfully residing in the United States under the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) between the U.S. and the Federated States of…
Repealing the ACA will be devastating for the 2 million AAs and NHPIs who stand to lose coverage and many other lawfully present immigrant communities who would be locked out. The bill singles out groups like Compact of Free Association (COFA) communities who are currently eligible for tax credits under the ACA by removing their…
