8 Oct 2004

American Samoa trials health project

1:47 pm on 8 October 2004

Staff are being recruited for the Health Coverage for All project in American Samoa which aims to identify a model for health insurance coverage in the territory.

The project will be administered under the Governor's office using an US$800,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the US department of Health and Human Resources.

Counsel Toetasi Tuiteleapaga, the governor's contact person for the project, says the project will have a staff of three.

Two of the positions are now being advertised: for a project manager and a project specialist.

The grant award is for one year and the project will involve surveys, data collection, meetings with focus groups and stakeholders to come up with a health insurance coverage plan that is feasible for American Samoa.

Tuiteleapaga says they are reviewing timelines and project activities that can be achieved with the US$800,000 dollar grant.

The project staff will work closely with the Social Science Research Institute of the University of Hawaii, the Department of Commerce, the territory's Community College, and the LBJ Medical Centre.