Response to Questions: Potential Effects on Alaska of Proposed Health-Care Reform Legislation

Abstract

Mark Foster of Mark A. Foster and Associates (MAFA) is a consultant to ISER, and Rosyland Frazier is an ISER research associate. Both the authors have broad experience studying health-care issues in Alaska, and they have recently been looking at the problems Alaska’s Medicare patients face in getting primary-care doctors to see them. They prepared this note to respond quickly to questions from and discussions with the Office of the Governor in Washington, D.C. and Alaska’s Congressional delegation. Those questions and discussions were about the possible implications for Alaska’s Medicare patients of provisions in health-care reform legislation the U.S. Congress is considering, as well as about the broader potential effects on Alaska of the proposed legislation. This is by no means a full analysis of the many complex issues associated with health-care reform. A working paper by the same authors—examining the Medicare-access problem and related health-policy issues in more detail—will be available soon. The findings and conclusions of this note are those of the authors. If you have questions, get in touch will Rosyland Frazier at: anrrf@uaa.alaska.edu