Tuesday night’s Medicaid flight goes off smoothly with 274 passengers

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Of the 277 passengers who were originally set to travel on the Hawaiian Airlines charter flight Tuesday night from Pago Pago to Honolulu, only 274 were on board when the aircraft took off around 12 midnight.

Information received by Samoa News on Monday this week indicated that the flight was full — with 277 passengers. However, three of the passengers didn’t make the flight and it’s unclear why.

The inbound flight — with no passengers but only cargo — arrived just after 9p.m. The night arrival and departure out of Pago Pago was timed to land in Honolulu during daytime for connecting flights out of Hawaii to the US.

A majority of the passengers on the American Samoa Medicaid State Agency charter flight were Medicaid patients approved by the LBJ Off-Island Medical Referral Committee. Other passengers were local students heading to college, military recruits and US residents stranded in the territory since flights between Honolulu and Pago Pago were suspended about three months ago. (The last Hawaiian Airlines flight out of Pago Pago was Mar. 26th.)

According to the Medicaid State Agency, non-patients approved for the charter paid the $884 cost share for the charter.

Two local students pose for a photo Tuesday afternoon at Pago Pago International Airport. They were among the passengers who left that evening on the Medicaid charter flight to Honolulu. The pair told Samoa News their goal was to get to school in the US. [photo: Leua Aiono Frost]

The agency explained in a Facebook notice that the cost share for the medical charter is a federal requirement pursuant to reimbursement rules under the American Samoa Medicaid State Plan as approved by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

The agency said it worked very closely with CMS on the charter “to ensure that we fully comply with financial coverage of the charter for eligible Medicaid patients.” And if the passenger is not a LBJ Medicaid medical referral patient, they must pay the cost share.

“The cost share is based on how many passengers and how much cargo will be on the charter,” the agency said, adding that Medicaid had two options for the charter:

•     acquire the charter ONLY for Medicaid medical referral patients and pay 100% of the charter, or

•     acquire the charter and share the unused seats with students, military and stranded US residents and be subject to the cost share requirements.

Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga and Lt. Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga determined that “we share the charter and offer the unused seats to non-medical passengers to give some relief to many of our residents.”

“There is a first time for everything and as we navigate the requirements of this medical charter, we appreciate your patience and understanding,” the agency said.

Check in at the airport opened at 1pm and there were many family and friends to wave goodbye to their loved ones, as no one is sure when borders with Hawaii will reopen and people will be able to return.

Security was increased at the airport to ensure the smooth movement of patients and passengers from check-in to security and immigration.

This photo provided by the Port Administration Department shows the crowd of passengers checking in Tuesday afternoon at the Hawaiian Airlines ticket counter for that evening’s Medicaid charter flight to Honolulu.  [photo: Port Administration]

Medicaid also had a table at the airport where passengers stopped in to pick up their COVID test results and Hawaii Governor's letter for all Hawaii bound passengers.

Passengers and their relatives took to Facebook to thank Medicaid Office executive director Sandra King-Young, the governor and others for the charter flight.

American Samoa Medicaid Office director, Sandra King-Young (second from left) posed with her staff Tuesday night at Pago Pago Airport, where they assisted travelers on the Medicaid charter flight to Honolulu. [photo: Medicaid Office]