Island Policy Support

ASTHO supports T/FAS members’ policy priorities through engagement with key national decision-makers. There are two major platforms associated with this work: the Insular Affairs Committee, which targets legislative change, and the Island Areas Workgroup, which targets administrative change.

Insular Affairs Committee

The Insular Affairs Committee to the ASTHO Board of Directors was formed in 2018 to identify the unique policy needs and priorities of the Pacific and Atlantic jurisdictions. The committee provides a forum for ASTHO’s members to exchange information on policy challenges and solutions within the island areas. Additionally, the committee provides recommendations to the ASTHO Board on policy priorities. This Committee engages with key stakeholders on Capitol Hill during annual Washington Week events.

The Insular Affairs Committee leads two ASTHO Tier One priorities within the organization's federal legislative agenda:

1. Achieving Medicaid parity for the territories.
2. Maximizing the impact of the renegotiated Compacts of Free Association.

Island Areas Workgroup

The Island Areas Workgroup (IAW) was created in fall 2021 to reinvigorate the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Insular Areas Policy Group and its Workgroup. The IAW seeks to improve the federal and local support structures that shape public health outcomes in the U.S. territories and freely associated states (T/FAS). The group brings together leaders from island jurisdictions, federal agencies, and partner organizations to find solutions that can optimize the procedures, organizational policies, and programmatic structures surrounding island health programming. The group centers and is led by island voices, and currently maintains three subgroups focused on data capacity, workforce development, and health financing.

Since its inception in fall 2021, the IAW has grown to more than 150 members, with representatives from T/FAS health agencies, federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions. For more information about the IAW, including participation in quarterly meetings or monthly subgroup meetings, please contact IslandSupport@astho.org.