Why health care costs hit harder in Alaska

After I officiated his mother’s funeral, a grieving man cried as he told me, “We had to take out a second mortgage to pay for her care. Even with insurance, the bills are so high we’re losing our family home.” I've had dozens of similar conversations with families forced to make decisions based not on providing the best care for their loved one, but on how to avoid complete financial devastation.

Unfortunately, this experience isn’t unique to families in crisis. Every month, thousands of Alaska families face this stress as their health insurance costs skyrocket. People have approached me both in my role as a pastor and as a candidate for Alaska’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to share that their everyday costs were projected to increase from $55 to $1,500; from $200 to $2,100; from $750 to $3,500 per month. No one can afford that sort of increase. And our lone U.S. House representative casting his vote against preventing these increases is nothing short of cruelty.

On Jan. 8, Rep. Nick Begich did exactly that as he voted again to keep our health care costs sky high, rejecting a bipartisan effort to extend ACA tax credits that help Alaskans afford coverage. He said the extension “has no credible pathway forward in the Senate,” Buthe was not sent to D.C. to give up on our health care - he was sent there to defend it. There is still a pathway forward, and we need a representative willing to fight for it. Because here in Alaska, we already face some of the highest health insurance costs in the country, and these credits mean the difference between seeing a doctor and going without care for thousands of families. Now that the tax credits have expired, Alaskans’ premiums are estimated to increase 346% on average.

This isn’t just about financial difficulty. It's about families being forced to make impossible choices between health care and keeping a roof over their head, or putting off life-saving care like cancer screenings because they have to pay their heating bill instead. Rep. Begich was elected to represent these families. Instead, he’s used his short time in Congress to skyrocket costs and rip health care away from over 35,000 Alaskans. His votes make Alaskans’ lives worse, while he and his fellow millionaires get richer and enjoy whatever care they desire.

This is a betrayal of Alaskan families, of the principles that he was sent to Washington to defend and of basic human decency. When I am in Congress, I will fight for a plan that ensures all Alaskans can access affordable health care, because no family should ever have to make the crushing calculation between buying food or medicine. To ensure that this becomes reality, I will include a provision that requires all members of Congress to be on that same plan. Because to truly be representative, a congressperson must understand and have empathy for the lives led by the people they serve.

It’s time to remind our elected officials that health care isn’t a political wedge for craven politicians to make their donors richer, while Alaskans pay the price. It is a basic human right. And if they fail to protectit, then they no longer deserve Alaska’s seat in Congress.

Matt Schultz is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Anchorage and a candidate for U.S. representative.