Micronesians United members rallied at the state Capitol yesterday and gathered in the governor's offices for more than an hour to protest a state plan to scale back health care benefits to about 7,500 adult Micronesians.

A group of about 30 people sat in a public area of the governor's offices, singing Micronesian songs and holding signs. They requested a meeting with the governor, but were told she wasn't available.

Elma Coleman, a member of Micronesians United, said she was disappointed no member of the administration came out.

"It seems like she doesn't care," Coleman said of Gov. Linda Lingle.

The group said it would be back on Monday to again request a meeting with the governor.

"We're hopeful it will send a message to her," said Tita Raed, vice president of Micronesians United.

The new health care plan goes into effect Tuesday, and is aimed at saving the state about $15 million a year.

It replaces a comprehensive health care plan the state started providing to low-income, adult Micronesians in 1996 — when Congress made them ineligible for federally funded care. State officials have said the state no longer has the money for the comprehensive plan, though it has stressed coverage for children and pregnant women will not change.

Of most concern is that the new plan doesn't cover dialysis treatment or chemotherapy.

The state estimates about 100 Micronesians currently get dialysis treatment paid for by the state.

Advocates put the number at about twice that, however, and say without treatment those patients will die.

State Department of Human Services Director Lillian Koller said in a statement to The Advertiser, "We are working closely with providers to ensure that their critical health care needs, such as kidney dialysis and chemotherapy, continue to be met."

Koller said health care cutbacks are needed to meet a fiscal crisis that continues to worsen.

Hawai'i is the only state in the nation that provides free health care to migrants who are under the Compact of Free Association, which offers benefits for those from Pacific nations where U.S. nuclear testing took place in the 1950s, Koller said. The compact also provides federal grants to states that offer free services to Micronesians, but those funds cover only a portion of all the costs.

Hawai'i, for example, gets about $11 million a year in compact funds.

But it spends about $100 million annually on services for compact migrants.

"It is a simple fact," Koller said, "that our taxpayers can no longer afford to fund the U.S. government's obligation."