WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski (both R-Alaska), and Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono (both D-Hawaii), introduced legislation this week to increase the amount that hospitals in Alaska and Hawaii can be reimbursed by Medicare to perform outpatient procedures for enrolled seniors. Historically, rural states have faced significant cost disparities for Medicare reimbursement that drive up costs for both hospitals and patients. This legislation would recognize the unique cost-of-living challenges that hospitals in Alaska and Hawaii face, and would increase reimbursement for ultra-rural hospitals to ensure that they can continue to serve seniors in rural locations.
The legislation follows a letter sent to the Department of Health and Human Services by Senators Sullivan and Murkowski requesting more reimbursement-rate flexibility for Medicare inpatient procedures in Alaska and Hawaii.
“The federal government’s one-size-fits-all Medicare formulas are simply not working for rural states—a challenge that has saddled health care providers and senior citizens in Alaska with outrageous costs relative to other states,” Senator Sullivan said. “Without flexibility in these formulas, hospitals across Alaska are struggling to maintain the level of care our seniors deserve. Our priority must be ensuring seniors on Medicare across the state can continue to access the inpatient and outpatient health services they rely on.”
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“Medicare formulas continue to fall short in addressing the challenges that rural states face. Alaska’s health care system relies on health care facilities to provide care in some of the most remote locations, contributing to increases in cost of care,” said Senator Murkowski. “This legislation will offer greater flexibility for these Medicare formulas, so our facilities can provide critical care to our seniors and rural Alaskans.”
“To make sure hospitals in communities across Hawaii can continue to serve the seniors that rely on them, Medicare must recognize the real cost of providing health care in our state,” said Senator Schatz. “Our bill will help boost reimbursements to providers in Hawaii and make sure seniors have access to the health care services they deserve.”
“Hawaii’s unique geography and high cost of living makes accessing and providing health care more difficult, which is why hospitals in Hawaii have long received higher Medicare reimbursement for inpatient care than those in other states,” said Senator Hirono. “This bill would similarly raise outpatient Medicare reimbursements in Hawaii, helping to ensure our hospitals—especially on neighbor islands—have the resources they need to provide outpatient care for our communities.”
JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – The Supreme Court of Alaska will be taking up the case of the State of Alaska, Division of Elections v. Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr.
The oral arguments will be held Monday at 10 a.m. via Zoom, according to an order and opening notice.
The document also specifies that a decision is expected to be made before noon on Tuesday.
According to documents from the Division of Elections, the state must start printing ballots at noon on the same day.
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This comes after an Anchorage Superior Court Judge ordered Dan J. Sullivan on to the ballot Friday.
See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com
A new home under construction in Potter Valley in Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
This June, two very different offers reach Alaska families, and both amount to the same thing: $10,000. The difference is everything.
Bill Walker, running for governor, would hand every eligible Alaskan a one-time $10,000 check and then end the Permanent Fund dividend for good. Ask one question: Where does his $10,000 come from?
It comes from the Permanent Fund, the people’s own money and the savings Alaskans built for their children. Walker would spend that endowment once to pay Alaskans to give up the yearly dividend forever.
Think about what that does. It cancels the annual check that gives a family a reason to keep an Alaska address and replaces it with a single payout. You hand people their own savings, call it a gift and cut the tie that held them here in the same motion. It is the oldest mistake in governing money: raid what you have saved to buy a moment’s applause and call the spending generosity.
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A plan that spends the people’s savings to send the people away is not bold. It is foolish.
Now consider the other $10,000. Through Alaska Housing Finance Corp., the state offers families up to $10,000 to build a new, energy-efficient home. AHFC raids nothing. It earns its own way. Over the years, it has returned more than $2 billion to the state treasury, and it spends some of that income the way any good business does: to win a customer.
Here, the customer is an Alaskan who wants to own a home, put down roots and stay.
That is the oldest sound move in business: Invest a little of what you earn to bring in someone who stays. The homeowner remains, the community gains a family and the corporation keeps earning. The money spent comes back. A plan that puts earnings to work to bring people home is not charity. It is clever.
Same amount. Opposite source. Opposite wisdom. One spends savings; the other spends earnings. One pays Alaskans to leave; the other pays them to stay. One empties the state; the other fills it.
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This Homeownership Month, the choice is the size of a single check, and the whole question is where the check comes from and what it asks of you. Ten thousand dollars of your own fund, to wave you goodbye. Or $10,000, earned and reinvested, to help you stay and build.
Evan Swensen is the publisher of Publication Consultants in Anchorage and the author of “What’s the Money For: A Permanent Fund Mortgage Proposal.”
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