AR HCR1012

Encourages the Governor to submit a state plan amendment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to extend Medicaid and CHIP coverage to migrant children and pregnant women from the Compact of Free Association islands (Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Federated States of Micronesia)

Notes that 67 atmospheric nuclear weapons were tested in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958, causing ongoing health effects including high rates of cancer and chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease among residents and their descendants

Identifies that Compact of Free Association migrants were excluded from Medicaid eligibility following the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, while other legal immigrants have had eligibility incrementally restored

Cites that 31 states and the District of Columbia have already adopted provisions allowing lawfully residing children and pregnant women to access Medicaid and CHIP benefits under the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009

States that the vast majority of Marshallese migrants in the United States reside in Hawaii and Arkansas, which incurs significant uncompensated healthcare costs for this population