Health Care

by Channel 2 News staff Sunday, March 21, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaska politicians responded quickly to Sunday's passage of a health care reform bill by the U.S. House of Representatives. Their statements on the bill follow. Gov. Sean Parnell: This is public policy at its worst. I am very concerned with the impacts this bill will have on Alaska's seniors, families, small businesses, and physicians. For the many Alaskans currently unable to afford insurance, this legislation will do nothing but require that they purchase health insurance.

by The Associated Press Monday, March 22, 2010 JUNEAU, Alaska -- Alaska's attorney general is reviewing federal health care reform legislation to see whether the state should join other states in suing over it. No timeline was given Monday for completion of the review, first requested by Gov. Sean Parnell earlier this year. A Department of Law spokesman said the office plans to study concerns raised by other states as part of its analysis and does not want to rush the review.

by Jackie Bartz Sunday, March 21, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaskans on both sides of the aisle are chiming in on Sunday's 219-212 passage of a sweeping health care bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. While Democrats claim it will help thousands of Alaskans, Republicans say the $875 billion bill contains more bad than good. Rep. Don Young said it was too late to stop the bill Sunday. He stepped away from the health care debate to tell reporters he believed it would pass -- but he wasn't happy about it. Young says he's disappointed with right-to-life Democrats who switched their votes after President Obama issued an executive order barring federal funds from being used for abortions.

by Christine Kim Saturday, March 20, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. are making last-minute changes to a sweeping health care bill in the U.S. House of Representatives this weekend, and Alaskans await the results of Sunday's House vote. If passed, the $875 billion reform plan would affect almost every American, prompting Alaskan members of the public as well as the medical and insurance fields to meet and discuss the potential changes. Inside one of Alaska Pacific University's buildings Saturday, a few dozen people were in heated discussion.

by Dan Joling The Associated Press Monday, March 8, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Ex-Gov. Sarah Palin has criticized Canada's health care program, saying the socialized system should be dismantled in favor of free enterprise. But during a speech Saturday in Calgary, Palin acknowledged the irony of her family using medical care in Whitehorse, Yukon, decades ago. Palin was a child in the mid-1960s when her family lived in Skagway, a southeast Alaska town near the Canadian border.

by Christine Kim Tuesday, February 16, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Tuesday several Alaska veterans had the opportunity at a U.S. Senate field hearing to voice the challenges they face after returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Some of those concerns: Disability claims, health care and the Anchorage Veterans Administration office. A line of about a dozen panelists was invited to testify on veteran services, benefits and health care.

Sen. Mark Begich says the focus in Washington has made a big transition recently, with health care legislation stalled and everyone now talking about a new jobs agenda. Scott Brown's election to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts seat last month gave Republicans enough votes to derail Democrats' health care plans. Begich says lawmakers continue to meet on the issue in Washington, D.C., but are not finding common ground. "It's in the stall pattern right now," Begich said.

by Channel 2 News staff Saturday, February 6, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Anchorage Project Access held its first annual Spinning for Health Care event Saturday. The event had teams doing hour-long spinning sessions to help raise money for the nonprofit. About 120 people showed up at the 5th Avenue Mall to ride. Four to five teams rode every hour, and each team has a goal of raising $1,000. An organizer says the money raised will help provide medical care for Alaskans without insurance.

by Christine Kim and Channel 2 News staff Sunday, January 17, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- With Democrats' ability to pass health care reform on the line in a U.S. Senate special election in Massachusetts, a recent poll here in Alaska shows that more than half of Alaskans want their congressional delegation to vote against the legislation. According to a poll completed by Dittman Research the last week of December, 64 percent of Alaskans expect their health costs to increase, and 60 percent say they expect the quality of their care to decline if the health care plan becomes law. Overall, the poll shows 88 percent of Alaskans are satisfied with their current healthcare coverage -- a number Sen. Lisa Murkowski says reflects how Alaskans feel about health care reform.

by Channel 2 News staff Saturday, January 16, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A new report submitted to Gov. Sean Parnell and the Legislature says Alaska's health care problems cannot be fixed overnight. The Alaska Health Care Commission report, "Transforming Health Care in Alaska,"  came together after a year of work and research. It touches on everything from workforce development to the role of the consumer in health care. The commission found four main goals to help Alaska's health care system, including improving access to health care services and affordable coverage; containing costs; assuring high standards of care; and focusing on prevention to control costs.