JUNEAU — Gov. Bill Walker says as many as 45,000 Alaskans could lose health care coverage under a Republican bill proposed in the U.S. House.
Walker says that includes 30,000 Alaskans covered by the expanded Medicaid program and roughly two-thirds of the Alaskans with individual plans on the federally facilitated insurance marketplace.
About 19,000 Alaskans have individual plans. Walker said about 13,000 could lose coverage.
His statement came Thursday before GOP leaders delayed a vote on the bill.
Lori Wing-Heier, director of Alaska’s Division of Insurance, has said the bill would “kill” the state’s individual market by making plans unaffordable for low- to moderate-income Alaskans.
Walker expanded Medicaid with the understanding the federal share would not dip below 90 percent. He says the House bill would shift the burden from the federal government to the state.
