00                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 20                                                                     
01 Urging the United States Congress and the President of the United States to maintain                                    
02 health insurance coverage for individuals currently covered by Medicaid expansion.                                      
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS access to health care is essential for Alaskans to live healthy, safe,                                  
05 productive, and rewarding lives; and                                                                                    
06       WHEREAS Alaska has the second highest rate of residents without health care                                     
07 insurance in the nation; and                                                                                            
08       WHEREAS Medicaid expansion has provided health care to more than 30,000                                         
09 Alaskans; and                                                                                                           
10 WHEREAS Medicaid expansion, which limits eligibility to individuals with a                                            
11 maximum annual income of $20,300 for a single person, provides health care to some of the                               
12 most vulnerable residents of the state, many of whom are employed, retired, disabled, in                              
13 school, or caring for family members; and                                                                               
14       WHEREAS Governor Walker has declared a state of emergency regarding opioid                                      
15 addiction in the state; and                                                                                             
16       WHEREAS Medicaid provides 16,000 Alaskans with behavioral health treatment,                                     
01 including treatment for substance abuse; and                                                                            
02       WHEREAS Medicaid expansion provides continued access to treatment for Alaskans                                  
03 who are released from prison, thereby helping to prevent reincarceration; and                                           
04       WHEREAS Medicaid expansion has infused hundreds of millions of dollars into the                                 
05 state's economy, providing a significant financial boost during the current recession; and                              
06       WHEREAS, during the current recession, health care is one of the few industries                                 
07 experiencing growth in the state; and                                                                                   
08       WHEREAS Medicaid expansion has created and will continue to create jobs in the                                  
09 state; and                                                                                                              
10       WHEREAS Medicaid expansion returns tax dollars to the state; and                                                
11 WHEREAS the state spends the second lowest percentage of state funds on Medicaid                                      
12 of any state in the nation; and                                                                                         
13 WHEREAS Medicaid expansion has reduced uncompensated care provided by                                                 
14 Alaska hospitals by tens of millions of dollars, which helps reduce costs for all patients;                             
15 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                              
16 Congress and the President of the United States to maintain health insurance coverage for                               
17 individuals who are currently covered by Medicaid expansion.                                                            
18 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President                                   
19 of the United States; the Honorable Michael R. Pence, Vice President of the United States and                           
20 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                  
21 Representatives; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of                                       
22 Representatives; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the                                 
23 Honorable Charles E. Schumer, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Lamar                                   
24 Alexander, Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions;                                
25 the Honorable Virginia Foxx, Chair of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the                                     
26 Workforce; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S.                                        
27 Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska                                       
28 delegation in Congress.