July 16, 2015
By Virgil Dickson,
On Thursday, Governor Bill Walker of Alaska announced that he will use his executive power to put the state on track to be the 30th state to expand Medicare under the Affordable Care Act. First, Walker unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the Alaska Legislature to approve Medicaid expansion through the state budget process and then with a freestanding bill.
Alaska will use an additional $1.1 billion in federal funds over the next six years under the Affordable Care Act by raising eligibility to residents with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, estimates State officials.
Walker is turning to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, a group of bipartisan lawmakers that has the authority to review requests for Alaska to accept federal money when the legislature isn’t meeting, in order to pass the expansion.
Utah, North Carolina and Louisiana are other republican states that may expand Medicare, according to Adam Searing, a senior research fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families.
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