General discussion among lawmakers has been put on hold regarding the possibility of an appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court about Governor Bill Walker’s decision to expand Medicaid without legislative consent.
Ketchikan Representative Dan Ortiz is a member of the House Minority and says not all legislators support the lawsuit against the governor.
Rep. Ortiz (I-Ketchikan): “I think the studies that have come out show that it’s done a lot of what it’s supposed to do in terms of when we accepted Medicaid expansion. I think the statistics show that it’s saving the state money and it’s getting more people access to insurance so to appeal, I don’t see why you’d do that. And that doesn’t even take into account the extra resources it would take to do the appeal and go through the court process and are those resources that we have or are those resources that we could use in other places better, I kind of think so.”
Ortiz says he believes the Governor’s decision was wise and would not support an appeal if it comes down to a vote.
Nikiski’s Speaker of the House Mike Chenault is among the legislators who have led the charge against the governor’s move.
Rep. Chenault(R-District 29): “This is not about stopping Medicaid expansion, what this is about is the process, not only the process that the governor used to enact the Medicaid expansion but more the legislative appropriation authority that the legislature has to appropriate money.”
It is unclear if an appeal will be sought after the March 2 Alaska Superior Court ruling.