As happens in politics, they may be designating more funds to Alaska but it doesn't look like Planned Parenthood money, they are defunding it.
------------
GOP Health Bill Aims Cash at Reluctant Senator's Home State (2)
Anna Edney, Hannah Recht and Laura LitvanJul 14, 2017 4:39 am ET
(Bloomberg) -- Call it the Polar Payoff.
Changes made to the Republican legislation to repeal large parts of Obamacare would send hundreds of millions of extra federal dollars to Alaska, whose Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has been holding off from giving her much-needed vote to the bill. Under formulas in the revised legislation, only Alaska appears to qualify for the extra money.
The money comes from the legislation’s $182 billion in funding meant to help stabilize insurance markets and help states provide coverage. Under the formulas, states -- in this case just Alaska -- with disproportionately higher premiums would get extra funds from that account.
The legislation, called the Better Care Reconciliation Act, would repeal large parts of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans possess only a narrow margin in the Senate, and can only afford to lose two votes from their 52-vote majority. Murkowski had expressed concern about the legislation’s Medicaid spending reductions and lessened aid for people buying individual coverage. She also opposes a ban of at least a year on Planned Parenthood funding that was kept in the updated version of the legislation.
Questioned by reporters Thursday, Murkowski said she needed to read the bill before she decides how she’ll vote. Her office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, though last month she said she wasn’t interested in a special program for her state.
“Let’s just say that they do something that’s so Alaska-specific just to, quote, ‘get me,’” Murkowski said in June. “Then you have a nationwide system that doesn’t work. That then comes crashing down and Alaska’s not able to kind of keep it together on its own.”
Legislative Dealing
Such legislative maneuvers aren’t uncommon. Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska became the crucial Democratic vote for the Affordable Care Act after the inclusion of a provision that gave the state extra federal money for Medicaid, which is jointly funded by the federal government and states. Critics called it the Cornhusker Kickback, a reference to the Nelson’s home state.
Two related parts of the bill appear to specifically benefit Alaska.
Continued:
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OT1HTZ6JTSE801-7N4ALFJ06H96N8VHCN1QSJD2M3