<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Aptos;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#467886;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><div align=center><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=650 style='width:487.5pt'><tr><td style='padding:1.2pt 1.2pt 1.2pt 1.2pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><img width=650 height=106 style='width:6.775in;height:1.1in' id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/Customers/DSullivan/Sullivan2025letterhead.png"><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:1.2pt 1.2pt 1.2pt 1.2pt'><div align=center><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=600 style='width:6.25in'><tr><td style='padding:1.2pt 1.2pt 1.2pt 1.2pt'><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Dear Alaskan,</span> <o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>I am writing to share some important news about provisions I was able to include in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (WFTCA) that will strengthen our state’s health care system and make health care more accessible for you, your families, and your neighbors. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>The WFTCA created a new health care program, called the Rural Health Transformation Program, to address long-standing gaps in how federal health care funding reaches rural and high-cost states like Alaska. <a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=DSullivan&crop=14409QQQ13178977QQQ6416318QQQ117658&report_id=&redirect=https%3a%2f%2fwww.sullivan.senate.gov%2fnewsroom%2fpress-releases%2fsullivan-welcomes-272-million-investment-in-alaskas-health-care-system&redir_log=272556899761885">As I recently announced</a>, Alaska will receive $272 million per year for five years—nearly $1.4 billion total—to help transform the health care system throughout our state. We fought to ensure this program was not only included in the legislation, but that it covered our entire state—both rural and urban Alaska—and that it is also structured in a way that reflects the realities of delivering health care in the most rural state in America. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>This funding is flexible, accountable, and tailored to all of Alaska, allowing state and local leaders—not Washington D.C. bureaucrats—to design solutions that improve affordability, expand access, and strengthen health care delivery across both urban and rural communities in our state. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>This investment reflects a long-overdue shift in how federal health care policy treats Alaska. For too long, our state has been forced to operate under one-size-fits-all federal formulas that never made sense for our communities. The consequences have been felt across the state: patients traveling thousands of miles for care, rural clinics stretched thin, and families paying more for less. For instance, despite our extreme health care costs and geography, Alaska receives only slightly above the statutory minimum in federal Medicaid dollars—a roughly 50–50 match with the state, among the lowest levels in the country. Meanwhile, states with far lower costs receive substantially more federal support. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Correcting this inequity has been one of my top priorities since joining the Senate. That’s why we worked relentlessly to make sure that Alaska was prioritized and our unique geography, costs, and challenges were fully recognized. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>In drafting the Rural Health Transformation Fund, we intentionally applied lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and put them at the forefront. This fund is not limited to hospitals and providers; it also supports the social services that are essential to health care, with a focus on caring for the whole person. The funds will be invested in maternal and child health, expanding access to providers, workforce support, such as childcare, and critically needed technology upgrades. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>We are also the only state that uses a hub-and-spoke model of health care, meaning that, by strengthening urban centers, we can help Alaskans stay in-state rather than travel out of state for specialty care. Because we intentionally designed this proposal to be flexible and responsive to each state’s unique needs and challenges, Alaska received the second-highest level of funding in the program, behind only Texas. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>In addition to this historic funding, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act includes commonsense reforms to make care more accessible right now. The bill allows high-deductible health insurance plans to cover telehealth visits before patients meet their deductible—meaning Alaskans can see a doctor or specialist virtually without first paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket. For families, seniors, and rural residents who rely on telehealth as their primary connection to care, this change will make an immediate and meaningful difference. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>At the same time, we took steps to ensure Medicaid remains strong and sustainable for future generations. Contrary to false claims, this legislation does not cut Medicaid funding. It includes reasonable 20-hour-per-week work or volunteer requirements for able-bodied adults, while providing exemptions for disabled veterans, parents or guardians with children, individuals with disabilities or mental health challenges, Alaska Native people, and those living in rural areas with limited economic opportunities. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>More federal dollars alone do not automatically produce better outcomes. But targeted investments—paired with accountability and Alaska-driven solutions—can be transformative. These reforms move us toward a health care system that is more affordable, more holistic, and grounded in Alaska’s unique challenges and strengths. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>If you have questions about how these provisions may affect you or your family, please contact my office at 202-224-3004 or visit <a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=DSullivan&crop=14409QQQ13178977QQQ6416318QQQ117658&report_id=&redirect=http%3a%2f%2fwww.sullivan.senate.gov%2f&redir_log=152469610989218" target="_new">www.sullivan.senate.gov</a>. To read more about these provisions, as well as the many investments secured for Alaska, click <a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=DSullivan&crop=14409QQQ13178977QQQ6416318QQQ117658&report_id=&redirect=https%3a%2f%2fwww.sullivan.senate.gov%2fwftca&redir_log=282168021681263">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Sincerely,</span> <o:p></o:p></p><p><img border=0 id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/Customers/DSullivan/Sullivan_sig.png"><br><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Dan Sullivan<br>United States Senator <br></span><br><a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=DSullivan&crop=14409QQQ13178977QQQ6416318QQQ117658&report_id=&redirect=https%3a%2f%2fwww.facebook.com%2fSenDanSullivan&redir_log=435345059861276" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=24 height=24 style='width:.25in;height:.25in' id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/Customers/DSullivan/FB-Logo_24px.png"></span></a> <a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=DSullivan&crop=14409QQQ13178977QQQ6416318QQQ117658&report_id=&redirect=https%3a%2f%2ftwitter.com%2fSenDanSullivan&redir_log=640680838718242" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=24 height=24 style='width:.25in;height:.25in' id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/Customers/DSullivan/twitterbird24x24.png"></span></a> <o:p></o:p></p><p> <o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/Customers/DSullivan/iqtrk.gif?crop=14409QQQ13178977QQQ6416318QQQ117658" alt=image><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>