What It Took to Get Lisa Murkowski’s Vote

American Prospect: “The federal share of payment for Medicaid would be increased for ‘the state with the highest separate poverty guideline.’ That happens to be Alaska. Their share would increase 25 percent above that of a typical state.”

“Other programs bundle together benefits for ‘noncontiguous states,’ referring to Alaska and Hawaii. That includes an exemption from work requirements for SNAP, an increase in Medicare reimbursement rates to select health care providers, and a waiver from the cost-sharing provisions, whereby a state must contribute to SNAP funding… The reason Hawaii is getting this bounty is to get around the rules of budget reconciliation, where everything must have primarily a budgetary purpose. If Alaska were singled out by itself, then Democrats could charge that the riders were simply policy meant to benefit Alaska…”

“However, other benefits truly only benefit Alaska-based interests. For example, western Alaskan fishing villages get a special tax exemption. And Alaskan whaling captains will be able to deduct $50,000 of their business expenses as a charitable contribution, up from $10,000 under current law.”