Data presented by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium at a recent informational hearing of the Alaska House of Representative contends that a repeal of Medicaid expansion in Alaska, would have a dire economic impact.
The data provided by ANTHC came in the wake of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed state budget, which includes significant cuts to numerous agencies, including restructuring Medicaid and consolidated Medicaid budget that would be cut by $675 million in state and federal funds.
Jerry Moses of ANTHC, Doneg McDonough of Health Systems Analytics, and Becky Hultberg, of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association addressed the meeting on Feb. 13, noting that 46,124 Alaskans were enrolled under the Medicaid expansion program through November 2018.
Moses told the legislators that repealing Medicaid expansion in Alaska would cost 3,700 jobs, $267 million in lost wages ad $556 million in lost economic output.
“If the state were to terminate Medicaid expansion, the recent gains in health insurance coverage would be lost, and we would also lose billions in federal funding,” said Zack Fields, D-Anchorage. Most concerning is that the state would have to increase spending in order to maintain the same service levels that currently exist under Medical expansion, he said.
