The Alaska House of Representatives has passed Senate Bill 58, which addresses expands Medicaid eligibility for postpartum mothers. The bill passed the House by a vote of 35-3 and was introduced at the request of the Dunleavy administration.
One of the key provisions of the bill is the extension of Medicaid coverage for women after giving birth from 60 days to 12 months.
Currently, many new mothers lose their Medicaid coverage 60 days after giving birth. This can leave them without access to vital healthcare services at a time when they and their babies need it most. SB 58 addresses this issue by extending postpartum Medicaid eligibility to one year after the birth of a child.
The House also included an additional provision which would see the expansion of Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women from 200% of the State Poverty Line to 225%.
“We are proud to support Senate Bill 58, which will help ensure that all Alaskans have access to the care they need,” said Representative Will Stapp (R-Fairbanks), who made the expansion amendment and carried the bill. “By extending postpartum Medicaid eligibility, we can help new mothers and their babies stay healthy and thrive.”
The bill may cause women to reconsider having an abortion, if they are financially unstable when they get pregnant and worry about being able to take care of the child.
Voting against the expansion were three Republicans, Reps. Ben Carpenter, Sarah Vance, and David Eastman.
The bill goes to the governor for his signature.
So let’s be totally honest here. Alaska Medicaid expansion, under any request or purpose, is just more socialism for people living in the Bush.
Come on… There’s more pregnant women in Anchorage than all bush put together and promotes the huge homeless culture. The numbers at best are probably a push.
Uh……the pregnant women in Anchorage flew in from the Bush. And you paid for their air and hotel bill. Nice little vacation with good health care. It really does pay to be indigenous.
My personal anecdote.
After chartering a flight from a bush village back to Fairbanks we were told by the pilot that we needed to take an emergency medicaid flight back to Fairbanks and she was going to be priority on the flight.
Being in the village for 2 months straight I was confused about not hearing anyone in town having a major medical issue or flying out on any of the two daily scheduled flights from the village. 45 minutes later a person is dropped off at the airstrip with a dozen action packers and more bags than I flew in with for a 2 month stint.
The cargo hold started getting filled with this person’s boxes and it was obvious that none of my crew’s gear was going on the plane. After a few minutes everyone figures out all of these boxes and bags are completely empty. A few minutes later the bags and boxes are condensed and there is just enough space to fit my crew and their gear onto the plane along with the Medicare emergency.
I sit next to the patient by chance and after chatting for half an hour on the flight they tell me their ailment…
Brace yourself bush workers, you already know the ending. The patient told me they were suffering from a toothache.
No refund on the charter for this hitchhiker btw.
Do you know how many Military families use Medicaid? Clear you don’t.
Medicaid Expansion is now a pro-life policy? Oh boy.
How far we have fallen.
Advocates extol the benefits for those who will be receiving them. Rarely do they come out and tell each of those who will be paying the new taxes that they will be better off as well. It’s a hard sell when you put it that way.
Before helping my neighbor I don’t ask “but how will I benefit?”. If a neighbor runs out of gas on the road and I give him a few gallons to make it to the next station I don’t demand he pay me a profit for my ‘investment’; at most I ask them to pay it forward and keep our community strong.
How far we have fallen.
Paying new taxes for the benefit of the mothers who are my neighbors and fellow Alaskans DOES make me better off.
I’m better off because these mothers can raise their children free of looming medical debt and as such they will be able to be more self sufficient post birth and NOT burden our other social systems.
I’m better off because I understand that my wife may need this bill, my daughter may need this bill, my Alaskan neighbors may need this bill.
The best investments we make are in each other.
How much are the village banished reinvesting into Anchorage/ Fairbanks/ Juneau versus how much they take out?
You have the ability to donate from your own paycheck to charity without involving the government btw.
1. This has nothing to do with the village banished. Yes they take more than they give from our public assistance, but for drug/alcohol/homelessness/food related assistance, not postpartum medicaid which is the only assistance this covers. Irrelevant.
2. regarding: “You have the ability to donate from your own paycheck to charity without involving the government”
I can and I do. That has nothing to do with this bill. If that was a legitimate argument against this then so would the following:
You have the ability to donate from your own paycheck to fire services/police/road infrastructure/emergency response, utility service subsidies (i.e. water, electricity, gas, phone, internet) why involve the government?
The answer is private companies are really good at a lot of things, and really bad or incomplete at other things we care about. Taxes make sure you can drive on bridges, get medical help in an accident, prevent your neighbor from putting their septic next to your water well, and make sure the next generation can stand on their own after birth with SB 58
As an aside, we have the lowest tax burden out of all 50 states. That’s a fact. We could pass this bill 10 times and that would still be a fact.
David-60% of Alaskan adults who utilize Medicaid, are working-and paying taxes. Especially our young military families where over seas deployment will take a big morale dive when military babies and military wives are dying at birth.
National defense suffers, so what, right?
Government school, work and political career David, get off the government teat yourself.
et tu return to CA. We don’t give a damn how they do it in the lower 48.
Over 60% of Alaskan adults who get Medicaid are working.
Also many of our, especially young, Military families utilize Medicaid.
E pluribus unum: “out of many, one”
Protecting our neighbors and families and making them strong is what makes us American. America is meaningless without this. Alaska more-so than any other state. This is our foundation; this is what makes us strong; preserving this is what conservatism means.
Stop sucking down the MAGA juice that comes from the lower 48. That’s a trend Alaskan conservatives don’t need. Let the little states have their culture wars.
As a child to homesteaders who were here before statehood, and as someone who has been here my whole life, from the bottom of my heart, you need to stop and take a good long look at who you think you stand for. Country, community, family, or just yourself? Real Alaskans know one of the most important things there is, is a good neighbor. Are you a good neighbor?
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