Gov. Bill Walker has joined a bipartisan group of governors urging quick action to make health care coverage more stable and affordable.
“Alaskans face the highest health care costs in the country,” Walker said. “Thanks to my team’s out-of-the-box thinking, premiums in the individual market are projected to decrease 20 percent in Alaska. But there’s more work to do.
“That’s why I joined seven other governors in urging Congress to action right away to make health care coverage more stable and affordable. We as governors have pledged to work with our congressional leaders to ensure that the cost is not shifted to states, and that resources and care for our most vulnerable are protected.”
Walker also urged all Alaskans to review recommendations set forth in studies mandated by the Legislature. The studies have different suggestions for reforming health care in Alaska.
The letter to congressional leaders signed by the eight governors noted that insurers have until the end of September to make final decisions about participating in the marketplace, and that Congress and the Trump administration need to send a strong signal now that the individual market will remain viable this year, next year, and into the future.
The governors called for a commitment by the Trump administration to making cost sharing reduction payments, creation of a temporary stability fund for creating reinsurance programs or similar efforts that reduce premiums and limit losses for providing coverage.
The letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was signed by Walker and governors John Kasich, of Ohio; John Hickenlooper, of Colorado; Brian Sandoval, of Nevada; Tom Wolf, of Pennsylvania, and Terry McAuffice, of Virginia.
