The Latest: Murkowski doesn’t want to see health plan rushed

JUNEAU, Alaska – The Latest on the federal health care debate (all times local):

2:20 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski cautioned against a “reckless” approach to changing the federal health care law, saying it’s important to get it right.

During a Facebook Live event Thursday afternoon, the Alaska Republican said she could not support the GOP health care overhaul as it stood in the House, saying it doesn’t solve Alaska’s problems.

The bill remained a work in progress amid efforts to bring it to the House floor for a vote.

Murkowski says she’s committed to repealing the law, sometimes called Obamacare, but said there are provisions worth preserving, such as barring insurers from discriminating based on pre-existing conditions.

She says she’s advocating for such things as tax credits that better reflect Alaskans’ needs and protecting increased services offered by expanded Medicaid.

___

11:50 a.m.

Gov. Bill Walker says as many as 45,000 Alaskans could lose health care coverage under a Republican bill proposed in the U.S. House.

Walker says that includes 30,000 Alaskans covered by the expanded Medicaid program and roughly two-thirds of the Alaskans with individual plans on the federally facilitated insurance marketplace.

About 19,000 Alaskans have individual plans. Walker said about 13,000 could lose coverage.

His statement came Thursday before GOP leaders delayed a vote on the bill.

Lori Wing-Heier, director of Alaska’s Division of Insurance, has said the bill would “kill” the state’s individual market by making plans unaffordable for low- to moderate-income Alaskans.

Walker expanded Medicaid with the understanding the federal share would not dip below 90 per cent. He says the House bill would shift the burden from the federal government to the state.