Marshallese Health Care in Hawai'i

The State of Hawai'i is seeking to save 15 million dollars by removing dialysis and chemotherapy treatments from their state health plans. This proposed plan is specifically targeting the Marshallese people who rely heavily on the state health care plans. As part of the Compact agreement with the U.S. and the Marshall Islands, Marshallese are guaranteed access to these services. The Compact agreement requires the federal government to provide money to states to cover resulting costs. Hawai'i claims the Marshallese are costing them 100 million dollars worth of health care costs for these treatments. They also claim the federal government is not providing them enough money to care for these people. However, if the new plan goes into effect, several hundred very sick people who have come to America seeking treatment will die within the next few months.

A law suit filed on behalf of the Marshallese was able to obtain a temporary injunction against the state to have them postpone implementing their plan until after the state legislature can review the policy. Within a few weeks the injunction may no longer be able to protect the Marshallese. For more information on this issue, check out this.