Sullivan's Medicaid ruse: Provide coverage only to the 'most' vulnerable of 260,000 Alaskans

Sen. Dan Sullivan has long supported cuts to Medicaid in Alaska, though he hides behind the claim that he wants to help the “most vulnerable” recipients, which he says is the way to preserve the program for future generations.

Translated, this means he support cuts for Medicaid recipients who are vulnerable, but not “most vulnerable,” a term that remains undefined by design.

Making his position clear on cutting Medicaid coverage would make Sullivan more vulnerable in his 2026 reelection campaign.

Tens of thousands of vulnerable Alaskans now among the 260,000 covered by Medicaid could lose coverage under the Sullivan approach, depending upon the definition of “most.” One in three Alaskans is on Medicaid and 39 percent of those in the system are kids.

The word game is an act of deception, comparable to the claim that extending the Trump tax cuts for rich people will not add trillions to the federal deficit.

Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Nick Begich the Third have all now voted to support the ill-advised Republican federal budget plan to find $880 billion to cut from Medicaid over a decade. This would have an enormous negative impact on health care in Alaska for individuals and institutions.

To her credit, Murkowski said she would not support the final version if it returns to the Senate with the “reconciliation instruction to a House committee that would require significant cuts to Medicaid.”

When the budget resolution was up for a vote in the Senate, Sullivan introduced an amendment to protect Medicaid for the “most vulnerable.”

Afterward, he attacked Democrats on social media as hypocrites for failing to support his amendment and claimed they don’t want to protect Medicaid. He said those who opposed his amendment proved that they don’t support Medicaid.

Sullivan said: “My Democrat colleagues like to say they want to protect programs like Medicaid and Medicare, and this evening, they had an opportunity to prove it. I offered a simple amendment to the Senate budget resolution—the first of the night—calling for protecting Medicaid, particularly for the most vulnerable, and strengthening Medicare so that it’s available for future generations. Every Senate Democrat voted against it. One Democrat colleague called my amendment a ruse to kick people off the programs. If that’s true, why did he—and 23 other Senate Democrats—vote for the EXACT same amendment with the EXACT same language during the budget vote in 2017? Talk about a ruse. This is the worst kind of partisanship. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are using people’s health care to fear-monger.”

The ruse was by Sullivan, who displayed the worst kind of partisanship. I will examine this in detail in future blog posts.

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