Healthcare is one of the many programs facing deep cuts under Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget proposal. Becky Hultberg is the president of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association.
She said under Dunleavy’s spending plan, the state’s Medicaid program would lose over $700 million.
“That kind of a reduction would quite simply restructure our healthcare system,” she said. “There is not a way for providers to absorb cuts of that magnitude within the current system.”
She says it’s difficult to provide specifics about the impact because she says the Dunleavy administration isn’t providing enough information about how the proposed cuts would be carried out in the current Medicaid system. However, she predicts services will be cut, hospitals will close and providers will move out of state.
Jay Bechtol is the head of South Peninsula Behavioral Health Services, better known as the Center. At first glance, he said the proposed cuts to Medicaid might mean people will have to cut back on services.
“Clients that receive help from our agency and other agencies in town may have to decide which of their medical needs are more important especially as money is pooled into one big bucket,” he said. “’Do I need to get my new glasses or do I need to get my medication or do I need to get my teeth fixed?’”
He adds that the cuts wouldn’t put the Center at risk of closing down. KBBI also reached out to South Peninsula Hospital, but spokesperson Derotha Ferraro said the hospital is still digesting the governor’s budget proposal.