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The closing of the 177 Health
Plan after 16 years of service to the four nuclear
test-affected atolls is clearly going to cause hardship and
other problems as islanders come to terms with the closure.
Since the first Compact of
Free Association came into effect in 1986, it has provided
health care to the many hundreds of islanders exposed to US
nuclear tests in the 1950s, as well as their children and
grand children. It has been seriously under-funded from the
start, particularly in that the $2 million annual budget
that came from section 177 of Compact was not inflation
adjusted — although medical costs continue to skyrocket and
the number of people enrolled peaked at about 16,000 (though
the program says it actually serves about 7,000), the $2
million has remained the same from the start.
But even $2 million is
better than what is happening now.
This is a real shortcoming
of the second phase of the Compact relationship with the US.
Health problems and health care needs of radiation-exposed
communities in the Marshall Islands didn’t magically vanish
on September 30, 2003 (expiration of funding in the first
Compact).
The US government is not
demonstrating the long-term commitment needed to these four
nuclear test-exposed communities. And with the expected
negative Bush Administration review of the changed
circumstances petition (seeking additional compensation for
hardships, cleanups and health care), this situation isn’t
likely to improve any time soon.
The US government’s
attitude toward the RMI’s Compact-mandated changed
circumstances petition is also instructive: The petition
languished for more than 18 months before the US Congress
even acknowledged it, and now, at the request of the
Congress, it’s been with the Bush Administration for more
than 18 months in a review that continues to continue
despite indications from US officials during the summer that
it was just weeks or a few months away from issuance to the
Congress.
America has not adequately
addressed the legacy of its 67 nuclear tests at Bikini and
Enewetak — and the closure later this month of the 177
Health Plan is a striking example of this problem. |
