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Alaska Medicaid and Denali KidCare Expansion Law Initiative (2018)
| Alaska Medicaid and Denali KidCare Expansion Law Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Healthcare | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Alaska Medicaid and Denali KidCare Expansion Law Initiative was not put on the ballot in Alaska as an indirect initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have enacted as state law provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, that provided for the expansion of Medicaid and Denali KidCare. The measure would have required that eligibility standards for determining who can receive Medicaid be no more restrictive than those in place on January 1, 2017.[1]
The ACA was designed to provide states with a specific amount of funds each year to expand Medicaid to cover all individuals earning incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
On December 18, 2017, proponents of the initiative announced that they were suspending signature gathering efforts. They stated, “Instability in national healthcare policy has made it unworkable for the citizen initiatives to be presented to voters in the near-term.”[2]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the initiative is available here.
Sponsors
Doctors Alec Glass, George Rhyneer, Megan LeMasters-Soule, and Alan Gross proposed the initiative. The four doctors also proposed the Specific Affordable Care Act Requirements as State Law Initiative.[3]
Dr. Alec Glass, one of the four doctors sponsoring the initiative, said, "There are plenty of problems with the Affordable Care Act, but one of the most clearly positive aspects of it was the Medicaid expansion. I feel strongly that all Alaskans should have access to health care and that the system works better when there is not a large uninsured population where the hospitals have to shift costs onto the insured population."[3]
Path to the ballot
Citizens of Alaska may initiate legislation through the process of indirect initiative. In Alaska, successful petitions are first presented to the Alaska State Legislature. If the measure or an equivalent measure is not adopted by the state legislature, the proposed law is then placed before voters.
To make the 2018 ballot, initiative supporters were required to collect at least 32,127 valid signatures prior to the start of the legislative session in January 2018.
An application for the initiative was filed with the lieutenant governor on August 1, 2017. On October 2, 2017, Lt. Gov. Bryon Mallott (D) approved the initiative for signature gathering.[4]
On December 18, 2017, proponents of the initiative announced that they were suspending signature gathering efforts. They stated, “Instability in national healthcare policy has made it unworkable for the citizen initiatives to be presented to voters in the near-term.”[2]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "Initiative Petition 17HCAK," accessed August 28, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Juneau Empire, "Two healthcare ballot initiatives for 2018 have been canceled," December 19, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, "Doctors propose ballot initiatives to make aspects of Affordable Care Act state law," August 19, 2017
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "Initiative Petition List," accessed August 28, 2017
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State of Alaska Juneau (capital) |
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