SJR 15-OPPOSE MEDICAID CUTS  4:04:55 PM CHAIR DUNBAR announced the consideration of SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 15 Calling on the state's congressional delegation to oppose cuts to federal spending on Medicaid. 4:05:37 PM ARIELLE WIGGIN, Staff, Senator Forrest Dunbar, Alaska State Legislature, provided a brief overview of SJR 15 on behalf of the Senate Health and Social Services Standing Committee. She stated that SJR 15 opposes proposed federal Medicaid cuts, noting that over 250,000 Alaskans rely on Medicaid. She said Medicaid funds more than 40 percent of births in the state, and that such cuts would have severe economic and social impacts. 4:07:03 PM ANGELA KIMBALL, Chief Advocacy Officer, Inseparable, Alexandria, Virginia, testified by invitation on SJR 15. She said congress is considering a Budget Reconciliation Act that would cut Medicaid, which would severely impact Alaska's mental health and substance abuse services. Medicaid currently covers over one in three children, supports foster care, and brings $1.8 billion in federal funding annually for health and community services; reductions would strain providers, weaken services, and harm the state's economy and communities. She urged the committee to support SJR 15. 4:09:20 PM THEA AGNEW BEMBEN, Special Assistant, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, Anchorage, Alaska, testified by invitation on SJR 15. She stated that Mayor LaFrance's vision is to create a safe, healthy, and welcoming Anchorage where families want to stay and others want to move, helping address workforce challenges and strengthen the local economy. She listed all that is directly and indirectly supported by Medicaid. She said the City of Anchorage generates about 14.4 million in Medicaid receipts to support ambulance services at the fire departments. She said Medicaid is critical to this effort, supporting major healthcare employers, small businesses, early childhood investments, municipal health and safety programs, first responders, and the expansion of behavioral health crisis services essential to community well- being. 4:13:20 PM EDNA BEEBE, representing self, Eek, Alaska, testified by invitation on SJR 15. She gave an example of having to care for her mom in a village that doesn't have a road system and the struggles to get to doctor appointments. She expressed concern regarding the challenges she will face if Medicaid is cut. She asked the committee to do whatever it takes to protect her elders by protecting Medicaid. 4:16:26 PM LANCE JOHNSON, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Alaska Behavioral Health Association, Talkeetna, Alaska, testified by invitation on SJR 15. He argued that proposed federal Medicaid cuts would be catastrophic for Alaska, where nearly 280,000 residents rely on the program, almost half of them children. Medicaid supports infant and maternal health, early intervention, physical and behavioral health care, foster care and OCS services, corrections, homelessness response, and long-term care through home- and community-based services. He said Medicaid is a primary funding source for major hospitals and clinics and the largest payer of behavioral health services. 4:21:53 PM MR. JOHNSON stated that significant cuts would force providers to close, increase emergency room use, homelessness, recidivism, and untreated mental illness, reduce the health care workforce, and seriously damage Alaska's economy and health care system. 4:22:32 PM CARMEN WENGER, Director of Programs, All Alaska Pediatric Partnership, Anchorage, Alaska, testified by invitation on SJR 15. She stated that A2P2 has worked for three decades to strengthen Alaska's health care system through initiatives such as pediatric subspecialty care, school-based health clinics, and Help Me Grow Alaska, many of which rely on Medicaid funding. She said Medicaid supports Alaska's ability to develop innovative, child-focused health solutions and plays a critical role in whether families can access and remain connected to services. She said that disruptions to Medicaid, even short term, would negatively alter children's long-term health and mental health outcomes, weaken the state's health care infrastructure, and limit Alaska's ability to build a strong, sustainable workforce for the future. 4:25:16 PM SENATOR TOBIN referenced SJR 15, page 2, lines 12-14, and stated that Medicaid coverage for eligible Alaska native and American Indian beneficiaries is funded at a 100 percent federal match. She asked whether the impacts of proposed Medicaid cuts on those individuals and services are clearly articulated and addressed. CHAIR DUNBAR replied that 36 percent of Medicaid enrollees are Alaska Native. He said those beneficiaries are covered at a 100 percent federal match with no state cost, making the program particularly beneficial to Alaska, and noted that this could be highlighted in the language. 4:26:29 PM SENATOR HUGHES said a testifier mentioned a $880 billion restructuring reduction while SJR 15, line 29, says a reduction of $2 trillion over 10 years. 4:27:06 PM CHAIR DUNBAR said he will verify whether the figure is $880 billion or $2 trillion, as the difference may reflect varying timeframes. 4:27:10 PM CHAIR DUNBAR held SJR 15 in committee.