Between the new 500% age tax and new even lower income cliff cutoff for subsidies of 350% of poverty line, this bill will simply price even more older pre-Medicare Alaskans out of the health insurance market. Older Alaskans with otherwise comfortable incomes, that WANT to buy insurance. Older people that might be perfectly healthy, but that have been around long enough to know how quickly that can change. People that understand that one bad accident or illness can mean losing that retirement nest egg that took a lifetime to build. The Republicans really expect older Alaskans just above the new lower income limit to be able to pay 40% to 60% of their income for insurance? Really? Do they really think the "young invincibles" that benefit from the higher age tax are going to buy insurance once the penalty for not having it is removed?

This bill is an attack on older pre-Medicare Alaskans, pure and simple.