Parnell opposed to Medicaid expansion now

Parnell told reporters he will not ask the Legislature this session for funding or authorization to expand the program. He said he will continue to study the issue, with his next decision point coming when he submits his next budget in December.

At this point, "both the Legislature and I and the Alaska people need to see that it's in our interest as a state before we go down that road, and right now, I don't see that's the case," he said. "But I'm open to being proven differently."

The choice of whether to expand Medicaid arose from last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding most of the federal health care overhaul. The court held that states can't lose existing Medicaid funding if they don't expand their Medicaid coverage levels. Starting Jan. 1, the health care law expands Medicaid eligibility to people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, or about $15,400 for an individual.

Expansion in Alaska would cover an additional 32,000 people at a cost of nearly $220 million, starting in 2014, according to a 2011 state report. The federal government is expected to cover the cost of the expansion for the first three years, through 2016, and cover the bulk of the cost indefinitely, with states contributing.

"As I have said, I do not think politics should get in the way of protecting tens of thousands of Alaskans and reducing coverage costs for everyone — additional Medicaid coverage is good for small businesses, it is good for families, and it is good for our long-term economic security," said U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, who supports expansion.