SJR 10: Encouraging Alaska's Congressional delegation and the federal government to raise Medicare reimbursement rates to meet the actual cost of care for the state's senior citizens.
00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 10 01 Encouraging Alaska's Congressional delegation and the federal government to raise 02 Medicare reimbursement rates to meet the actual cost of care for the state's senior 03 citizens. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS Medicare reimbursement rates are below Alaska Medicaid rates for most 06 services and are inadequate to cover the cost of care to senior citizens in the state; and 07 WHEREAS the cost of living in Alaska is among the highest in the United States, 08 leaving senior citizens with fewer financial resources to pay for health care and prescriptions, 09 a problem that is exacerbated by inflation; and 10 WHEREAS health care costs in Alaska are among the highest in the United States; 11 and 12 WHEREAS Alaska has fewer primary care providers per capita than any other state; 13 and 14 WHEREAS Alaska has had the fastest growing senior population per capita of all 50 15 states for the last 10 consecutive years; and
01 WHEREAS health care providers may choose to accept a patient based on the 02 patient's insurance payer, and a diminishing number of primary care providers in the state 03 accept Medicare patients; and 04 WHEREAS the high cost of providing health care in the state makes accepting 05 Medicare patients difficult for both large corporate hospitals and small clinics and provider 06 groups; and 07 WHEREAS health care providers are further strained by the health care workforce 08 crisis, resulting in increased costs; and 09 WHEREAS lack of access to primary care delays care, resulting in more serious 10 intervention and higher costs to patients and the health care system; and 11 WHEREAS the closure of the Alaska Regional Senior Health Clinic has left hundreds 12 of seniors scrambling to find health care services in a very limited health care marketplace; 13 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature calls on the Alaska 14 Congressional delegation and the federal government to raise Medicare reimbursement rates 15 to meet the actual cost of care for the state's senior citizens. 16 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President 17 of the United States; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. 18 Senators, and the Honorable Mary Peltola, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska 19 delegation in Congress; and all other members of the 118th United States Congress.