At a public health meeting Monday, lawmakers discussed the difficult situation surrounding Marshallese residents in Northwest Arkansas and a lack of health care. The Compact of Free Association, formed back in 1986, allows people from the Marshall Islands to come to the United States without facing immigration laws. The only catch -- they are not eligible for federal heath care programs. "The tax part of their payroll income that goes into things such as Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security does not roll back to them, they don't reap the benefits of state assisted programs," says Cambre Horne-Brooks, Director of Development for the Community Clinic in Springdale. "It's not right that you're paying taxes and then you're not eligible for the programs that your taxes are helping to fund," says Carmen Chong-Gum, a member of the Marshallese community. Chong-Gum says Northwest Arkansas' large Marshallese population is suffering because of a lack of health care. "I really feel for these people, children and families, that they qualify because of their low income status but then they're not because of their status," she says. Since Arkansas is not included in the compact with the Marshall Islands, the state does not have access to the federal health care dollars allocated in the agreement. If nothing is done, health officials say all Arkansans will feel the effects... "If the Marshallese community aren't receiving services for their chronic disease care, then the community ends up paying part of the medical debt," Horne-Brooks says. Senator Bill Pritchard attended Monday's committee meeting. He and fellow lawmakers plan to submit a resolution to the federal government and look to see what can be done at the state level.
