Delegate Amata Coleman Radewagen (R) of American Samoa has cosponsored new bipartisan legislation to eliminate Medicaid funding caps for US territories. The bill, titled the Medicaid Improvement for Insular Areas Act of 2025, was introduced by Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds (R) of the Northern Mariana Islands, with original cosponsors including Radewagen, Delegate James Moylan (R) of Guam, and Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D) of the US Virgin Islands.
“Eliminating the Medicaid cap is something I have fought for years,” said Radewagen. “With the FMAP improvements already achieved, removing the cap is the next step toward equality for the territories with the states.”
The proposed legislation would provide immediate relief to territories that face annual funding limits under Medicaid, while ensuring that territories like American Samoa are not constrained by caps in the future. Radewagen emphasized that the measure is primarily about fairness, as states do not operate under similar Medicaid caps.
In 2019, Radewagen supported a bipartisan Medicaid reform law signed by then-President Donald Trump, which took effect in 2020. That legislation raised the federal share of Medicaid funding for American Samoa to 83%, the highest in the nation, reducing the territory’s local match from 45% to 17% and effectively increasing its Medicaid purchasing power by half.
“With the reopening of our fishing grounds by President Trump on our 125th Flag Day, we hope to see increased local revenues,” said Radewagen. “That could allow us to invest more in Medicaid, and eliminating the cap ensures we’re not restricted from meeting our people’s healthcare needs.”
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