Two Years Later: The Benefits of the Affordable Care Act for American Samoa

For too long, too many hardworking Americans paid the price for policies that handed free rein to insurance companies and put barriers between patients and their doctors. The Affordable Care Act gives hardworking families in American Samoa the security they deserve. The new health care law forces insurance companies to play by the rules, prohibiting them from dropping your coverage if you get sick, billing you into bankruptcy because of an annual or lifetime limit, or, soon, discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing condition. 

All Americans will have the security of knowing that they don’t have to worry about losing coverage if they’re laid off or change jobs.  And insurance companies now have to cover your preventive care like mammograms and other cancer screenings.  The new law also makes a significant investment in State and community-based efforts that promote public health, prevent disease and protect against public health emergencies. 

Health reform is already making a difference for the people of American Samoa by:

Scrutinizing unreasonable premium increases
In every State and for the first time under Federal law, insurance companies are required to publicly justify their actions if they want to raise rates by 10 percent or more. American Samoa has received $1 million under the new law to help fight unreasonable premium increases.

Supporting American Samoa’s work on Affordable Insurance Exchanges
American Samoa has received $1 million in grants for research, planning, information technology development, and implementation of Affordable Insurance Exchanges.

• $1 million in Planning Grants:  This grant provides American Samoa the resources needed to conduct the research and planning necessary to build a better health insurance marketplace and determine how its exchange will be operated and governed. Learn how the funds are being used in American Samoa here. 

Preventing illness and promoting health
Since 2010, American Samoa has received $600,000 in grants from the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the Affordable Care Act. This new fund was created to support effective policies in American Samoa, its communities, and nationwide so that all Americans can lead longer, more productive lives.

Increasing support for community health center
The Affordable Care Act increases the funding available to community health centers in all 50 states, and including the 3 existing community health centers in American Samoa. Health centers in American Samoa have received $1.1 million to create new health center sites in medically underserved areas, enable health centers to increase the number of patients served, expand preventive and primary health care services, and/or support major construction and renovation projects.

Strengthening partnerships with American Samoa
The law gives states support for their work to build the health care workforce, crack down on fraud, and support public health. So far, American Samoa has received more than $5.2 million from the Affordable Care Act. Examples of Affordable Care Act grants not outlined above to American Samoa include:

• $1.5 million for Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs. These programs bring health professionals to meet with at-risk families in their homes and connect families to the kinds of help that can make a real difference in a child’s health, development, and ability to learn - such as health care, early education, parenting skills, child abuse prevention, and nutrition.

Last updated: March 15, 2012

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