Governor Walker has been pressing for Medicaid expansion since his campaign…
Gov. Walker: “The decisions we make on the state budget affect overall economy. That’s why my budget will include the $450 million of federal money available to us through Medicaid expansion. It is 100% federally funded until December of 2016, then steps down over 4 years to 90%. Investing in health of Alaskans is sound prudent fiscal policy, we all want Alaskans to be productive as possible but if people can’t work, they can’t hunt, they can’t fish, unless they’re healthy. Medicaid expansion is good for Alaskans and good for Alaska.”
State Senator Mike Dunleavy sponsored a “Lunch and Learn” gathering in Juneau where Legislators heard from Christie Herrera from the Foundation for Government Accountability.
Herrera: “Who do you think benefits the most for Medicaid expansion? Well the answer may surprise you, it’s not children or the low-income elderly or the disabled, they’re already covered through Medicaid today. The big winners of Medicaid expansion are able-bodied working-age adults with no disability and no children who make up nearly 9 in 10 potential enrollees in Alaska.”
Herrera spoke about problems that she said some states have experienced.
State health commissioner Valerie Davidson, who also attended, questioned Herrera’s use of data in Arizona and Maine, which expanded Medicaid on their own and not under the federal health care law.
Herrera said those states, billed as cautionary tales, provide a longer-term view of data.