Anchorage – On Friday, officials from the administration of Alaska Governor Bill Walker, health-policy advocate Dr. Alan Gross, and several patient-advocates joined Representative Ivy Spohnholz (D-Anchorage) at the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center to highlight the importance of preserving protections for patients with pre-existing conditions.
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-Sitka) and Representative Dan Ortiz (I-Ketchikan) welcome news that Alaska, including Southeast, will receive $56 million in federal fisheries disaster relief funds. The 2016 pink salmon fishery’s devastatingly low revenues were felt throughout the state, but the initial request for disaster relief funds was...
Anchorage – Federal protections for patients with preexisting health conditions have been recently threatened on multiple levels. A rollback of these protections would have serious negative impacts on the Alaska economy and limit access to medical care for more than a quarter of all Alaskans.
On Friday June 22nd, lawmakers, state government officials, medical professionals, and patients will hold a joint press conference to discuss what potential changes would mean for Alaska.
Speakers will be available to answer questions following initial presentations.
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Anchorage – Today, Alaska Governor Bill Walker signed legislation into law to allow emergency medical services (EMS) providers to recover additional costs for transporting Medicaid patients in Alaska. House Bill 176, sponsored by Representative Adam Wool (D-Fairbanks), changes state law to ensure EMS providers can seek supplemental reimbursements from the Medicaid program, which currently serves over 200,000 Alaskans.
I hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying the beginnings of a hopefully long and sunny summer. I have been enjoying talking with folks as I see them in the neighborhood and at community events, and hearing their issues, concerns and ideas. Please know that I am always available to listen to you and work with you to find solutions to any problems you may have.
In the last week, we have heard an outcry from Americans across the nation, including Alaska, in passionate opposition to the Trump Administration’s zero-tolerance policy for people attempting to enter the U.S. from the southern border to seek asylum.
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
My office has been busy setting up shop in Anchorage for the interim. Some of the topics on my mind these days have been improving local infrastructure, sound environmental management, resolving our fiscal issues, and, of course, abating crime in our fair city.
Yesterday, Governor Walker signed House Bill 312, legislation I sponsored that gives practitioners, judges, and law enforcement the tools they need to address our greatest public safety needs and to protect our doctors and nurses.
Thank you to the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory for hosting the bill signing