09.26.17

Sullivan Statement on Graham-Cassidy Proposal

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) today released the following statement about the Graham-Cassidy Senate healthcare reform proposal.

“I’m disappointed that we haven’t been able to replace the Affordable Care Act with a system that works for Alaska. The Graham-Cassidy bill would have sent federal healthcare dollars and decision-making back to the states—the laboratories of democracy—to decide how best to meet the needs of their constituents. As Alaskans know, our healthcare challenges are different from other states, and the top-down mandates, which are the foundation of the Affordable Care Act, simply haven’t worked for thousands of Alaskans.

“The Graham-Cassidy bill, which I’m convinced would have brought more funds and more flexibility to Alaska, was compelling. Unfortunately, the process was rushed and we ran out of time to fully vet the data. I appreciate the collaborative work that the State of Alaska’s healthcare team put into this, and all of the hard work that Senators Graham and Cassidy undertook to understand and act on our issues. As a result of the delegation’s relentless work to educate our colleagues on Alaska’s challenges, I thoroughly expect that when this bill is reintroduced and reviewed, Alaska’s unique healthcare landscape will again be recognized, as it was in Graham-Cassidy.

“Finally, it’s imperative that we continue to work toward a better healthcare system for Alaskans and all Americans. The Affordable Care Act has not worked as promised and continues to collapse across the country. We are now at a crossroads. One-third of my Democratic colleagues have signed onto a bill, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, which would force an estimated 155 million Americans off of their private insurance plans and into a healthcare system controlled and run by the federal government that would cost tens of trillions of dollars. The Graham-Cassidy bill would have brought significant federal resources to states, recognizing all of our unique healthcare challenges, and would have brought the decision-making closer to the people.” 

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