Puerto Rico officials optimistic on collaboration with New York

The collaboration between the governments of New York and Puerto Rico that began late last year with a visit by Gov. Andrew Cuomo is beginning to yield positive results in the areas of health care, tourism and commerce, according to officials involved in these initiatives.

In October, a “dream team” of New York health officials announced in Puerto Rico that they would assist local officials in submitting a request to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for a waiver that would allow the island territory to implement changes in its public health care program that could alleviate its dire financial situation.

Ricardo A. Rivera, executive director of the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration, said the New York team submitted the waiver late last year and is waiting for the agency to approve or deny the request, which would offer incentives to health care services providers who comply with pre-established quality metrics that would help reduce patient hospitalizations.

New York health officials also examined Puerto Rico’s insurance claims data to find areas in which costs can be reduced by finding efficiencies in the system. This is crucial because more than two-thirds of the island’s population relies on Medicaid, Medicare or Medicare Advantage.

“We’ve had some conference calls with CMS to answer their questions regarding the waiver, but they haven’t taken a final decision yet,” Rivera told City & State. “We’ve been in constant communications with the officials from New York and the collaboration from their part has been excellent. We hope we can get this plan approved, which would be a great thing for Puerto Rico.”

The waiver would essentially allow the island to implement the same program that New York used to address its own Medicare crisis two years ago. If approved, Puerto Rico would adapt a regulatory and technological infrastructure for its health care system similar to what was used in New York.

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Rivera explained. “We can use the information systems already in place to measure how the providers are progressing and ensure that they are doing things the right way. We would even use the same auditing system being used in New York to avoid having to spend money on creating a new one.”

If CMS approves the waiver soon, the incentives program would be up and running by early fall, Rivera said. If the federal agency denies the request, “there’s always a Plan B, and what we’ve discussed is that New York would continue to work with us and offering technical help, but not on the same level as if the waiver is approved,” he added.

Tourism and commercial progress

Apart from health care, New York officials have promised to take steps to boost tourism and trade with Puerto Rico.

Betty Enriquez, director of the New York Commerce and Tourism Office in San Juan, which opened in November, said her team has been able to meet and is working with local officials to create partnerships in the areas of tourism, agriculture and commercial exchange that can help improve the island’s economy.

Since its opening, the Taste New York Market in Old San Juan has been visited by locals and tourists who have been exposed to dozens of products from New York state, such as specialty foods, beverages and agricultural products.

“We’ve also promoted all of the tourist attractions the state of New York has to offer beyond New York City,” Enriquez said. “There is a strong connection between New York and Puerto Rico in other areas outside NYC, in places such as Buffalo, Westchester and other areas, and there’s a lot of interest from local residents to visit our state.” 

The office is working with a local distributor, Del Caribe Distributors, which has signed agreements to sell Fork North potato chips, Empire Mayonnaise and Brad’s Organic chips on the island. La Hacienda Meat Market, a popular specialty food chain, has already agreed to create a Taste New York display in its stores.

New York beers and wines are among the product categories in which distributors in Puerto Rico have shown interest, but the store in Old San Juan can’t display these products yet because its liquor license was activated for Cuomo’s visit in November and taken away a day later, and has yet to be reactivated, in the typical bureaucratic tradition of the Puerto Rican government.

“The important thing is that we’re working on efforts that go both ways, so we’re working with companies in New York that have shown interest in distributing products from Puerto Rico,” Enriquez said. “We’re also working on agricultural initiatives that I can’t discuss at this time, but that will lead to great things in the future. The important thing is that we’ve been working on plans that will be executed. We’re not only talking, we’re putting them into action.”

José E. Maldonado is editor of Mi Puerto Rico Verde, which covers green and sustainable issues in Puerto Rico.