Nick Begich Served As The President Of The Board Of Directors For The Alaska Policy Forum, Which Opposed Medicaid Expansion
Nov. 2018-Oct. 2021: Begich Served As The President Of The Board Of Directors For The Alaska Policy Forum. [LinkedIn, Nicholas Begich III, Accessed 9/7/24]
Image: see original report, p. 176
[LinkedIn, Nicholas Begich III, Accessed 9/7/24]
The Alaska Policy Forum Was “A Self-Described Free-Market Think Tank.” “A self-described free-market think tank that publishes the earnings of thousands of public employees in Alaska is not so open when it comes to disclosing its financial supporters – including the conservative Outside group that has funneled large grants its way. One of the values of the Alaska Policy Forum is not disclosing donors, but the source of its limited money is less important than the group’s focus on transparency in government, fiscal accountability and school reform, said David Boyle, executive director.” [Anchorage Daily News, 9/14/14]
The Alaska Policy Forum Opposed Medicaid Expansion And Called For It To Be Rolled Back, Which Would Cause 41,000 Alaskans To Lose Access To Health Care
Alaska Policy Forum CEO Bethany Marcum: “Medicaid Expansion Is Failing Alaskans” And Created “A Dependency Crisis.” “It’s time for a reality check. Since Alaska expanded Medicaid to able- bodied adults in 2015, our state has experienced cost overruns, unexpected—but predictable—over-enrollment, and is facing a dependency crisis. Some—local lawmakers and local lobbyists included— would have you believe that Medicaid expansion has benefited our state. But it’s time to face the facts: Medicaid expansion is failing Alaskans.” [Alaska Policy Forum, Bethany Marcum, 2/20/19]
The Alaska Policy Forum Called For The State Government To “Spend Less On Health Care” By “Reconsidering Medicaid Expansion.” “A recent update by Health Management Associates (HMA) shows that Alaska’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment remains disproportionately high, and enrollment is maintaining a high growth rate more than five years after Medicaid expansion began in Alaska. […] The combined impact of high Medicaid enrollment rates, year after year, with far above average Medicaid reimbursement rates, is certainly contributing to Alaska’s highest-in-the-nation health care spending, and could also be significantly affecting the high price of health care services. If Alaskans want to see themselves and their government spend less on health care, reconsidering Medicaid expansion and renegotiating reimbursement rates with the federal government are the first steps.” [Alaska Policy Forum, 9/21/20]
Dropping Medicaid Expansion Would Cause 41,000 Alaskans To Lose Medicaid Coverage. “If Alaska dropped the Medicaid expansion in response to the loss of enhanced federal financing, the state would forgo an additional $2 billion over the 2020-2029 period, and by 2029, 41,000 Alaskans estimated to be covered in the expansion group would lose Medicaid coverage.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 7/21/17]