The Legislature must take this quiz — test, really — before graduating our medicaid program into a full-borne expanded one here in Alaska. The Alaska Policy Forum presents over 40 legitimate questions to be answered before signing off on the governor’s medicaid expansion legislation.
1. What are the measured standards or goals of Medicaid expansion?
10. Both the Governor and the Department have referred to a study that states expansion will generate 4,000 new jobs. Can you provide some details on where these jobs are? If they are mostly in healthcare, do we have the capacity to meet the increased demand?
12. How can we be sure that the MMIS system, which that was recently identified as having 2 critical defects, 3 high defects, 81 moderate defects, and 1 low defect is functioning properly before we add 20,000 – 40,000 new Alaskans to the Medicaid roster? Why should we not wait until we have the system certified and a SSAE 16 report? What would it cost the state should we have to carry the expansion costs, until the system is certified?
13. Is it true that the Federal Government will not make any provider payments until such time as the system is certified and we have a clean SSAE report? Does this mean that the State would have to carry all payments until the system is certified?
17. What is the cost of a private health insurance policy that would cover all of the items covered under Medicaid? What impact does Medicaid payments have on private plans?
20. What is the cost of the state’s projected 50% of administrative expenses for administration of the Medicaid program?
35. With a shortage of providers and lower reimbursement rates for Medicare patients, some seniors are having difficulty finding a physician to care for them. In Interior Alaska this has proven true. Texas, for example, found that doctors willing to take new Medicare patients dropped by 50% in the last two years. What solution do you see for this problem?
41. How many Alaskans are currently enrolled in Medicaid and how many use services?
See All Questions at Alaska Policy Forum
