HJR 20: Urging the United States Congress and the President of the United States to maintain health insurance coverage for individuals currently covered by Medicaid expansion.
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.