ANCHORAGE, AK – Dan Sullivan and Nick Begich voted to shut down the government after refusing to support a measure that would have saved over 20,000 Alaskans from devastating, impending health care premium hikes. 

Now, the Sullivan Shutdown will cause Alaskans’ health insurance costs to skyrocket by an estimated $1,836 a year after he passed a bill to eliminate extended ACA premium tax credits. Already facing “the most expensive health care in the country,” Alaskans are now bracing for premiums projected to rise by “more than 700% per month in some cases.”

Statement from Chair Eric Croft of the Alaska Democratic Party:

“At a time when Alaskans’ pockets are already stretched thin due to spiking costs, Dan Sullivan and Nick Begich voted again to increase health care costs and rip coverage away from tens of thousands of their constituents. Sullivan and Begich would rather shut down the government than work with Democrats to avert the disastrous health care premium increases that are headed Alaska’s way. Make no mistake: This is the Sullivan Shutdown, and Alaskans will be the ones forced to foot the bill.”