health care puerto rico

In the mountain town of Juyaya, Puerto Rico, last October, children watched as U.S. Army helicopters brought a team of physicians to assess the medical needs of the local hospital and residents. Going forward, health economists say, the U.S. territory wil

Puerto Rico's Wounded Medicaid Program Faces Even Deeper Cuts

5:23pm August 01, 2018

State Medicaid programs already get much more money from the federal government than Puerto Rico Medicaid gets — and the storm-ravaged U.S. territory's safety net for the poor is barely hanging on.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, restorations are being made to a roof in Castañer, a village in Puerto Rico's central mountains. But recovery is slow.

In A Puerto Rican Mountain Town, Hope Ebbs As The Hardship Continues

8:18am April 18, 2018

by Sarah Varney

Six months after Hurricane Maria pounded Puerto Rico, patience in the remote mountain village of Castañer is wearing thin. Mental anguish persists among people still waiting for reliable electricity.

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After a lifetime of agricultural work on the U.S. mainland, Ausberto Maldonado retired home to a suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico. But he has diabetes, and especially since Hurricane Maria, has been struggling to get by.

Time's Running Out For Many Frail, Older People In Puerto Rico

8:57am March 30, 2018

by Sarah Varney

Ausberto Maldonado picked corn and asparagus for years on the U.S. mainland before retiring in Puerto Rico. He has diabetes, and as the island's safety net wears thin, he's struggling to survive.

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A doctor walks through a hallway at the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2013. A medical exodus has been taking place for a decade in the Caribbean territory as doctors and nurses flee for the U.S. mainland, seeking higher salaries

SOS: Puerto Rico Is Losing Doctors, Leaving Patients Stranded

9:31am March 12, 2016

by Greg Allen

Every day, at least one doctor in the economically challenged U.S. territory moves to Florida and other states where they're well-paid and better jobs abound.

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