The White House Tuesday heaped praise on Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, an Independent, for expanding Medicaid to thousands of residents despite opposition in the Republican-controlled legislature.
Presidential press secretary Josh Earnest said it was the “right decision,” and noted that Alaska is the 29th sate in addition to the District of Columbia to increase Medicaid and “prioritize the health of the state’s citizens over narrow political interests.”
“Hospitals and businesses throughout Alaska will save on uncompensated care costs, and hardworking families will gain the peace of mind that comes with health security,” said Earnest, who is traveling in Alaska with President Obama.
The decision will provide health care to approximately 20,000 low-income residents, according to the governor’s office.
“Many Alaskans are working two or three jobs to make ends meet, and have not been able to afford health insurance,” Walker said. “The Healthy Alaska Plan ensures that working Alaskans will no longer have to choose between health care and bankruptcy.”
Walker first made the Medicaid announcement earlier this summer, but an outside group filed suit to stop the expansion, and charged Walker with ignoring the state legislature. A state judge on Friday declined to put a temporary stop to the expansion, and lawmakers then asked the Alaska Supreme Court to intervene.
The state’s high court on Monday refused to step in, allowing the state to begin signing up residents for the program as of Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
The federal government will pay all costs for the new Medicaid enrollees through 2016, but will begin lowering its share in 2017, and aims to have states will pay 10 percent of the costs by 2020 for the new enrollees.
