For years, Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, has heard from her constituents that health care costs have risen too high in Alaska.<\/p>\n
This session, she was planning on doing something about it. She introduced Senate Bill 27<\/a>, which would require insurance providers to have an incentive program to help patients pursue health care for a lower price. Then, less than three weeks into session, she had to withdraw her bill because of new ethics rules instituted for this session.<\/p>\n The new rules, instituted as part of House Bill 44 and signed into law last year, dictate that a legislator can’t vote on a bill if they or a family member can benefit financially from that bill. The law also forbids legislators from having private conversations about a bill.<\/p>\n [Legislature’s new ethics law extends to private discussions<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n Hughes’ husband works in the health care field, she explained on the Senate floor this past Friday. She explained in an interview that the bill actually would have hurt her husband financially, but she wanted to get the bill passed for the constituents she’s been hearing from for years. Health care in Alaska is the highest in the nation by a wide margin, Hughes said, and health care provider Premera posted a study<\/a> in 2017 that health care in Alaska is more than twice as high as the national average.<\/p>\n The weekend after withdrawing the bill, she heard from her constituents again. She held an informal public meeting where around 40 people showed up to ask her questions and get an update on how session was going. They were also there to provide feedback.<\/p>\n “They were infuriated to hear that I had to pull that bill,” Hughes said.<\/p>\n Even talking in an interview in her office Tuesday, Hughes was cautious about how specific she was about health care. She said she believes HB 44 has good intentions, but it’s just too broad and prevents legislators from delving into some of Alaska’s biggest issues.<\/p>\n HB 44 requires legislators to declare if they or a family member are financially affected by legislation under discussion. The conflict has to be worth at least $10,000, the bill states. If the legislation comes to the floor of the House or Senate, the lawmaker has to declare a conflict there and request to be excused from voting. It only takes one objection from another legislator to force that person to vote, though, according to the law.<\/p>\n