Alaska will be expanding Medicaid starting tomorrow.
It's been a long and winding year for Medicaid Expansion in Alaska. Governor Parnell rejected it. Governor Bill Walker ran on a platform supporting it and won. The legislature refused to bring it to the floor for a vote and adjourned a special session called by the Governor for its consideration without taking action.
The legislature then called their own special session (in Anchorage, not the state capital of Juneau) and addressed pretty much nothing. Eventually a weak version of Erin's Law was passed. (Alaskans forced the issue of Erin's Law for the safety of school children.) Medicaid was not on the agenda for the special session called by the legislators in Anchorage (despite strong support from Alaska Chamber of Commerce, health agencies, and most Alaskans).
Eventually Governor Walker said he was ordering Medicaid Expansion by executive action to take place on Sept. 1. The GOP legislative majority, hiring big DC firms, sued and lost. They were seeking an emergency stay of the Governor's executive order. After losing in court once, the GOP legislative majority appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court and once again lost.
http://www.adn.com/...
The Alaska Supreme Court issued an order Monday allowing Medicaid expansion to start in Alaska Tuesday, expanding health care coverage to up to 40,000 low-income Alaskans as lawyers continue to battle about the legality of expansion.
Legislators paid high-powered DC attorneys famous for opposing Medicaid expansion in various states across the country at a cost to Alaskans of $1 million dollars. Governor Walker was supported by pro-bono attorneys from Alaska.
Cheers to progress, however slow, however incremental, however less than perfect..but moving in the right, er correct, direction.
Unfortunately many of these sorry Alaska legislators are in gerry-mandered "safe" districts, but election 2016 in Alaska is going to be interesting. Alaska is also circulating a petition to get an initiative on the ballot to register voters via the Permanent Fund Dividend application. So cheers to Alaska..for getting the name of its mountain back, for welcoming POTUS and the international climate group, for expanding Medicaid, and for improving voter rights and voting access in Alaska.