JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she will work with the state to analyze a bill released by fellow Senate Republicans on Thursday that would overhaul the federal health care law.
Murkowski, a moderate who could be a key figure in the Senate debate, has been critical of her colleague’s handling of the measure.
In a statement, Murkowski said changes to health care are needed but those changes must be “done right.” She had been urging a deliberate approach to making changes that has bipartisan buy-in.
She said she is committed to ensuring that all Alaskans have access to affordable, quality health care and will review the bill through that lens.
Alaska’s junior senator, Dan Sullivan, said the current system is not sustainable. He said many Alaskans are being forced to buy insurance they can’t afford and can’t use.
“Overall, I believe that we can do better for our state and our country, but I will not vote for a bill that will make things worse for Alaskans,” he said in a statement.
In reviewing the bill, Sullivan, a Republican, said he will look at whether Alaska-specific issues are addressed. Those include stabilizing the state’s insurance market, which has just one company offering individual health policies, and “providing a sustainable and equitable path forward for Medicaid,” he said.
Many Alaskans receive health coverage through Medicaid, a government program that helps low-income people. In 2015, Gov. Bill Walker expanded Medicaid to cover more lower-income Alaskans, an option afforded to the states under the health care law passed under former President Barack Obama.
The Senate bill would phase out extra money that Obama’s law provides to states that expanded Medicaid coverage. Those additional funds would continue through 2020, then gradually fall and disappear entirely in 2024.
Nearly 34,000 Alaskans have been covered by expanded Medicaid, as of the end of May.
In a statement, Walker said Alaskans benefiting from the expanded program “have received life-saving care and peace of mind knowing they have health care coverage. That should be protected.”
He said he is reviewing the bill and confident that Murkowski and Sullivan will fight to protect Alaskans and the needs of a vast, remote state where high health care costs are a concern.
He said his administration will work with the state’s congressional delegation to ensure Alaska’s voice is represented in negotiations on the issue.
