| When Nick Begich allowed Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire, he pushed roughly 25,000 Alaskans towards the brink of a “health care cliff” and forced families into impossible choices between affording coverage and paying their bills.
Anchorage Daily News reports that Begich has been “silent” as costs skyrocket – declining to answer repeated questions and refusing to join bipartisan efforts to extend the subsidies. Instead of lifting a finger to help Alaskans, Begich reportedly “blamed the Affordable Care Act for rising costs.”
Here’s what Alaskans had to say about his cruelty:
- Jeigh Stanton Gregor, a parent of two and licensed counselor, will see his monthly costs jump from $900 to $3,500: “I’ll tell my patients: ‘I’m sorry, I can’t see you as much, because I need to afford health care for my family’…I have to limit my mental health services to people in this community to afford health care.”
- Nan Schleusner, whose family of three will see their monthly costs jump from $1,380 to roughly $4,300: Schleusner said she is praying that Congress extends the tax credits and Congress’ failure to pass extensions was “a big middle finger for people like me.”
- Mark Robokoff, a small business owner whose monthly costs will nearly triple to $3,000: “I feel pretty abandoned by our government on this.”
DCCC Spokesperson Anna Elsasser:
“Nick Begich chose to abandon Alaskans and shove families off a health care cliff. While families are bracing for crushing cost hikes, Begich dodged accountability, blocked solutions, and blamed the very law keeping people covered. It’s cruel, reckless, and indefensible – and Alaskans will remember next November.” |
