Alaska News

Legislature inches toward end with Medicaid expansion not in sight

JUNEAU -- The Alaska Legislature appeared increasingly unlikely Friday to vote on Gov. Bill Walker's bill to expand the Medicaid health care program as lawmakers inched toward the scheduled finish of their 90-day session on Sunday.

The House and Senate advanced several other pieces of legislation Friday, like a new fuel tax to pay for oil spill cleanup and another measure to expand the state's ability to sell its timber. And Walker pulled one limb from the end-of-session logjam by vetoing a contentious bill sponsored by House Speaker Mike Chenault aimed at thwarting the governor's plans for a state-controlled natural gas pipeline from the North Slope.

But that move was expected, and there was otherwise little public progress on many of the Legislature's key outstanding issues, from the expansion of Medicaid sought by Walker to a final budget package required by the Constitution that sorts out differences between the House and Senate over education funding and state employee pay.

Top lawmakers canceled a meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon to resolve some of those differences. Meanwhile, four different Medicaid bills were left languishing without hearings in the House and Senate finance committees.

Medicaid currently covers about 125,000 low-income children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities.

Walker promised during his campaign last year to expand Medicaid to about 40,000 other low-income Alaskans under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, with initial costs fully funded by the federal government. But his plans have so far been thwarted by top Republican legislators, who say the costs of the current $600 million-a-year program need to be reduced before it grows.

Of the four Medicaid bills currently stuck in the finance committees, two come from Walker and aim to expand the program and cut its costs. Two other versions focused solely on cost-cutting are based on an original proposal from Sen. Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks.

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The committees didn't schedule hearings Friday on any of the bills and had none scheduled for Saturday either. Kelly, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a brief interview Friday that his committee "might be the place that expansion gets to."

There may be some "last-minute deals" that dislodge either his or Walker's legislation, Kelly said. "But I'm happy with both of them in finance," he added.

In a separate interview Friday in his third-floor Capitol office, Walker reaffirmed his intention to force the Legislature to address Medicaid expansion at some point -- which could mean he orders lawmakers to stay in Juneau to work on the issue after their scheduled adjournment Sunday.

He said he was also considering allowing the Legislature to adjourn and then calling them back to take up Medicaid expansion later this year. Walker said he'd make the decision "a little bit closer to the appropriate time."

"If they're close and just have some nagging questions they need answered, the most fiscally responsible thing, I think, would be to stay here and sort of keep it going for however long it takes," he said. "I'll just have to wait and see how it plays out."

But with two days to go, there are still key areas of disagreement between Walker and the Legislature's Republican leadership that remained unresolved, like Medicaid expansion and the gas pipeline bill from Chenault currently spiked on Walker's veto pen. A joint House-Senate session vote to override Walker's veto is expected Saturday or Sunday.

Other pending pieces of legislation include two versions of a bill from Walker to reduce the costs and expand the distribution of natural gas in Fairbanks -- a plan that's also drawn questions and amendments from top Republicans. Hearings on two versions of that bill were scheduled for Friday afternoon in the Senate Finance Committee, then postponed.

The evolving schedule left staffers, some legislators, and lobbyists guessing at how the last 48 hours of the session would unfold.

"There's a lot of rumor and innuendo, and who knows what's going to happen?" said Barbara Huff Tuckness, the president of Teamsters Local 959, a union that represents oilfield service workers, hospital staff and commercial drivers, and was once the most powerful labor organization in Alaska. "A lot of unanswered questions at this point. This is the time for us to sit and wait."

Key legislators in the Republican-led majority caucuses spent lengthy stretches of Friday in meetings and negotiations. But some lower ranking and minority lawmakers were left with a little more free time.

Rep. Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage, the House minority leader, said he left the Capitol briefly Friday for a trip to Costco to replace the battery in his van and to stock up on snacks for his staff for the last two days of the legislative session. (They included chips and beef jerky, but Tuck said he forgot smoked almonds for Rep. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks.)

Tuck said his van is scheduled to return to Anchorage on a ferry that leaves Tuesday, though it's unclear if lawmakers will adjourn with enough time for him to fly back to meet it.

Asked about his expectations for the Legislature, Tuck responded: "I'm amazed how much work can get done in the last few days -- but I'm also amazed how one thing can hang everything up."

Chenault's gas pipeline bill appeared to be the most significant item outstanding.

The state Constitution directs legislators to meet "immediately" to consider overriding Walker's veto, which was issued Friday afternoon. But spokespersons for both Walker and Chenault wouldn't offer clear definitions of the term.

Walker has engaged in a high-profile and public dispute over the pipeline plans and several other issues during the legislative session, but he and Chenault have both said they'd like to avoid a veto override vote because of its potential to embarrass the loser.

Walker discussed the bill with Chenault and Senate President Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, in a meeting on Friday morning. By later in the day, it appeared that some type of compromise might be possible -- though its details remained unclear.

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In an interview Friday evening, Meyer said he was more optimistic about the prospect of a compromise and added that legislative leaders have found some points of agreement with Walker in their discussions over the pipeline bill.

He said it was possible that the Legislature would simply not take a vote on the veto override at all. Other members of Meyer's caucus were similarly positive.

"It looks like there are good discussions about what they can agree to," said Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole, the Senate's majority leader. "It looks like we both want the same things -- it's just a matter of lining up. And it's possible the pressure will make it more possible."

Nathaniel Herz

Anchorage-based independent journalist Nathaniel Herz has been a reporter in Alaska for nearly a decade, with stints at the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. Read his newsletter, Northern Journal, at natherz.substack.com

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