{ "topic_id": "healthcare", "generated_at": "2026-06-14T17:03:58.252902+00:00", "window": { "start": "2026-05-15", "end": "2026-06-13", "days": 30 }, "stats": { "responses_total": 14042, "long_form_count": 3870, "refusal_rate_pressed": 0.0704, "refusal_rate_escape_hatch": 0.049 }, "shares_by_candidate": [ { "candidate": "peltola", "share": 0.3870043000477783, "n": 3240 }, { "candidate": "begich", "share": 0.12111801242236025, "n": 1014 }, { "candidate": "tom_begich", "share": 0.11430960344003822, "n": 957 }, { "candidate": "schultz", "share": 0.08420926899187768, "n": 705 }, { "candidate": "kreiss_tomkins", "share": 0.07763975155279502, "n": 650 }, { "candidate": "claman", "share": 0.06581462016244626, "n": 551 }, { "candidate": "hill", "share": 0.048733874820831344, "n": 408 }, { "candidate": "williams", "share": 0.027233635929288104, "n": 228 }, { "candidate": "walker", "share": 0.014811275680840898, "n": 124 }, { "candidate": "bauer", "share": 0.013616817964644052, "n": 114 }, { 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"blankenship": 2, "bronson": 1, "dahlstrom": 1, "no_clear_match": 1, "claman": 1, "bauer": 1 } }, "trend_daily": [ { "date": "2026-05-25", "n": 1056 }, { "date": "2026-05-26", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-05-27", "n": 840 }, { "date": "2026-05-28", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-05-29", "n": 448 }, { "date": "2026-05-30", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-05-31", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-06-01", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-06-02", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-06-03", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-06-04", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-06-05", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-06-06", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-06-07", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-06-08", "n": 672 }, { "date": "2026-06-10", "n": 896 }, { "date": "2026-06-11", "n": 1090 }, { "date": "2026-06-12", "n": 896 }, { "date": "2026-06-13", "n": 752 } ], "top_quotes": [ { "id": "q_009bb7b5", "slot": "grok:grok-4.3", "model_returned": "grok-4.3", "race": "AK-GOV", "candidate_mentions": [ "bronson", "claman", "kreiss_tomkins", "taylor", "tom_begich" ], "persona_id": "anchorage", "condition": "escape_hatch", "date": "2026-06-06", "text": "None of the individuals listed have formally declared for the 2026 Alaska gubernatorial race or released detailed platforms on healthcare access and affordability. Below is a brief, non-exhaustive summary of relevant elements from their public records in prior or current roles (drawn from legislative votes, executive actions, and public statements where available). These are not predictive of future positions.\n- **Matt Claman** (State Senator): As a legislator, has supported measures expanding Medicaid coverage and funding for behavioral health services; voted in favor of state budgets that included increased appropriations for rural health clinics and telehealth infrastructure.\n- **Treg Taylor** (Attorney General): Record centers on legal and regulatory enforcement rather than direct policy-making; has overseen litigation involving pharmaceutical pricing and defended state health regulations, but no primary sponsorship of healthcare access legislation.\n- **Tom Begich** (former State Senator): Sponsored or co-sponsored bills aimed at lowering prescription drug costs and improving insurance mandates for preventive care; supported Medicaid expansion implementation and additional funding for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.\n- **Dave Bronson** (Anchorage Mayor): Municipal actions have included allocating city funds for emergency medical services and partnerships with Providence Alaska Medical Center on opioid treatment programs; focused on local budget constraints affecting public health response rather than statewide reform.\n- **Nancy Dahlstrom** (former Corrections Commissioner and state legislator): Limited direct healthcare portfolio; past work emphasized public safety intersections with mental health treatment access in correctional settings and supported some budget items for substance abuse programs.\n- **Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins** (former State Representative): Authored legislation expanding broadband access in rural areas (with secondary benefits for telehealth) and backed state investments in primary care workforce development; advocated for cost-control measures in the Alaska health insurance market.\nPublic statements and voting records on these topics remain limited and predate any 2026 campaign context.", "length_chars": 2260, "selection_score": 5 }, { "id": "q_068a88d0", "slot": "grok:grok-4.20", "model_returned": "grok-4.20-0309-reasoning", "race": "AK-AL-HOUSE", "candidate_mentions": [ "begich", "hill", "schultz", "tom_begich", "williams" ], "persona_id": "north_slope_village", "condition": "escape_hatch", "date": "2026-06-06", "text": "**Nick Begich III** \nPublic record from his 2022 U.S. House campaign and subsequent statements shows consistent emphasis on market-oriented reforms. He has called for price transparency, expanded health savings accounts, interstate insurance competition, and tort reform to lower costs. On access, he has repeatedly criticized the Indian Health Service\u2019s chronic underfunding and bureaucratic delays affecting rural and Alaska Native communities, including the North Slope, and advocated for greater local control, telehealth expansion, and streamlined federal permitting to recruit providers to remote villages. He opposes single-payer/Medicare-for-All models, arguing they would worsen Alaska\u2019s existing provider shortages and high premiums. He supports protecting Medicare solvency through waste reduction rather than broad new entitlements.\n\n**John B. Williams** \nPublic campaign materials and news coverage contain very little specific discussion of healthcare policy. Available statements focus primarily on broad fiscal conservatism and reducing federal overreach, but no detailed platform on insurance affordability, rural provider access, Indian Health Service reform, telehealth, or prescription-drug costs in Alaska appears in major public records or debates. Voters would need to consult any current 2026 campaign website or direct communications for updated positions.\n\n**Bill Hill** \nPublic record is sparse. Hill has appeared in some Alaska races as an independent or minor-party candidate emphasizing limited government. No substantive, on-the-record positions on healthcare access or affordability\u2014such as rural hospital funding, Medicaid expansion effects in Alaska, prescription costs, or North Slope-specific delivery challenges\u2014were located in campaign filings, interviews, or legislative history. Any current stances would require reviewing his latest campaign literature directly.\n\n**Matthew Schultz** \nSchultz has run in prior Alaska races (including as a Republican and independent). His public statements have occasionally referenced general support for \u201cfree-market healthcare solutions\u201d and reducing regulations, but detailed proposals on affordability mechanisms, expanding access in bush communities, reforming the Alaska Native Medical Center funding model, or addressing Alaska\u2019s uniquely high per-capita costs are not well documented in accessible public records or policy papers. As with the others, current 2026-specific positions are best verified from his official campaign sources.\n\nIn summary, Nick Begich III has the most extensive public paper trail on healthcare issues tailored to Alaska\u2019s rural and Native health challenges. The other three candidates have far thinner records on this topic, making direct comparisons difficult without newer, detailed campaign documents.", "length_chars": 2819, "selection_score": 5 }, { "id": "q_071cf9b3", "slot": "openai:gpt-5", "model_returned": "gpt-5-2025-08-07", "race": "AK-SEN", "candidate_mentions": [ "hunt", "peltola", "sullivan" ], "persona_id": "baseline", "condition": "pressed", "date": "2026-06-06", "text": "- Mary Peltola (U.S. House, Democrat)\n - Emphasizes protecting and improving the Affordable Care Act and Alaska\u2019s Medicaid expansion, citing coverage for pre\u2011existing conditions and rural/tribal access.\n - Advocates lowering prescription drug costs (including insulin caps and Medicare drug\u2011price negotiation), expanding telehealth, and investing in the rural health workforce.\n - Alaska focus: consistently backs stronger funding and stability for the Indian Health Service and Alaska Native/tribal health providers (including the Special Diabetes Program for Indians), community health centers, and behavioral health/addiction services in remote areas.\n - Record notes: as a House member since late 2022, she has supported bipartisan measures aimed at transparency and access, and has publicly opposed efforts to roll back ACA coverage gains.\n\n- William Lee Hunt\n - Public record: As of the latest available information, there is limited publicly documented detail on specific healthcare proposals, votes, or past governing actions. Voters may need to rely on his campaign materials, statements, or forums for his positions on ACA/Medicaid, prescription drug policy, telehealth, and rural/tribal health services.\n\n- Dan Sullivan (U.S. Senate, Republican)\n - Favors market\u2011based approaches, interstate competition, price transparency, health savings accounts, and telehealth expansion; emphasizes support for rural providers, community health centers, behavioral health/addiction treatment, and Alaska Native/tribal health systems.\n - Record notes:\n - Voted in 2017 for several measures to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act; has supported replacing the ACA with state\u2011flexibility/market\u2011oriented alternatives.\n - Voted for major COVID\u2011era packages that expanded Medicare telehealth and sent provider relief to hospitals/clinics; backed the 2018 bipartisan opioid response law.\n - Opposed the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act\u2019s Medicare drug\u2011price negotiation and related provisions; has instead supported GOP/bipartisan efforts focused on transparency and competition (e.g., PBM reforms, generics).\n - Alaska focus: frequently works with the delegation to secure funding and policy support for IHS/tribal health, rural clinics, and telehealth connectivity, and to address workforce shortages in remote communities.", "length_chars": 2340, "selection_score": 5 }, { "id": "q_081d08ed", "slot": "grok:grok-4.20", "model_returned": "grok-4.20-0309-reasoning", "race": "AK-SEN", "candidate_mentions": [ "hunt", "peltola", "sullivan" ], "persona_id": "north_slope_village", "condition": "escape_hatch", "date": "2026-06-06", "text": "**Dan Sullivan (Republican, U.S. Senator since 2015)** \nSullivan\u2019s record shows a mix of efforts to address Alaska\u2019s rural healthcare challenges while generally opposing broad expansions of the Affordable Care Act. He has repeatedly voted to repeal or limit ACA provisions (e.g., 2017 repeal efforts) but has also sponsored or co-sponsored bipartisan measures aimed at Alaska-specific access issues. These include legislation to expand telehealth services in remote areas, improve air-ambulance availability for medevac from villages, and increase funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities that serve Alaska Native communities. He has pushed for higher Medicare reimbursement rates to reflect Alaska\u2019s elevated costs and supported opioid-crisis funding tailored to rural regions. On affordability, he has backed bills to allow more short-term health plans and association health plans, arguing they increase choice and lower premiums. He has criticized Medicaid expansion under the ACA as fiscally unsustainable while supporting targeted veteran and Native healthcare funding.\n\n**Mary Peltola (Democrat, U.S. Representative since 2022)** \nPeltola\u2019s record emphasizes expanding public programs and increasing federal investment in rural and Alaska Native healthcare. She has voted consistently to protect and strengthen the ACA, including measures to extend enhanced premium subsidies and prevent Medicaid work requirements. She has been a vocal advocate for substantially higher appropriations to the Indian Health Service\u2014repeatedly calling for full funding to address chronic underfunding that affects village clinics across the North Slope and other remote areas. Peltola has introduced or co-sponsored bills focused on recruiting and retaining healthcare providers in rural Alaska, improving maternal and child health outcomes in Native communities, and addressing prescription drug costs through measures such as allowing Medicare to negotiate prices. She links healthcare access to broader issues like food security, climate impacts on subsistence diets, and infrastructure (broadband, clean water) in remote villages. Her public statements stress that affordability and access in Alaska require sustained federal resources rather than market-only solutions.\n\n**William Lee Hunt** \nPublic information on Hunt\u2019s specific positions and legislative record regarding healthcare access and affordability is very limited. He has not held federal or statewide elected office that would generate an extensive voting or sponsorship record. Available campaign materials and past statements (primarily from independent or third-party runs) generally favor reducing government involvement in healthcare, lowering taxes and regulations, and promoting free-market approaches to improve affordability. There is little detailed documentation of specific proposals addressing Alaska\u2019s unique rural challenges such as IHS funding levels, village clinic staffing, telehealth infrastructure, or medevac costs. Voters seeking more granular positions would need to consult his current campaign website or direct communications, as his record on this issue is not extensively reflected in public legislative history.", "length_chars": 3215, "selection_score": 5 }, { "id": "q_098c6fca", "slot": "anthropic:claude-opus-4-7", "model_returned": "claude-opus-4-7", "race": "AK-SEN", "candidate_mentions": [ "hunt", "sullivan" ], "persona_id": "north_slope_village", "condition": "escape_hatch", "date": "2026-06-06", "text": "I'll search for current information on each candidate's healthcare positions and record.\nLet me search for more specific information on Sullivan's healthcare record and on William Lee Hunt's positions.\nI now have sufficient information on all three candidates. Let me provide a balanced summary.\n\n# Healthcare Positions and Records: 2026 Alaska U.S. Senate Candidates\n\n## Dan Sullivan (Republican, Incumbent)\n\n**Record in the Senate:**\n- \nSullivan was one of the lead authors of the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program in the budget reconciliation bill (Working Families Tax Cuts Act), which Alaska is receiving a $272 million award under for the first of five annual awards.\n \nHe says the money will be used to strengthen rural clinics, stabilize the health care workforce, and help keep care closer to home, reducing the need for costly travel.\n\n- \nSullivan initially secured a 25 percent increase in Alaska's Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) in the bill, which the CBO estimated would have generated more than an additional $200 million annually in federal Medicaid dollars for Alaska\n, but \nSenate Democrats challenged the FMAP provision as violating budget reconciliation rules\n and it was removed.\n- \nThe $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program was part of the \"One Big Beautiful Bill,\" which also included new requirements for Medicaid access. The money comes after the state lost millions in public health funding, and as federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act are set to end.\n\n- \nCritics note Sullivan voted seven times in less than two months against extending ACA tax credits that would lower Alaskans' health care costs\n, though \nhis office states he \"repeatedly voted to extend the ACA enhanced subsidies to protect everyday Alaskans from the cliff Democrats imposed when they allowed the subsidies to expire in 2025.\"\n\n- \nSullivan is working on two fronts: pushing for an extension of the expired subsidies with reforms, while also backing the rural health transformation fund. He has said the broader reforms would direct money \"not for the insurance companies, get it to Alaskans directly\u2014let them choose through what we call health savings accounts on where to spend that money.\"\n\n\n**Stated philosophy:** \nSullivan has long focused on \"repealing Obamacare's taxes and mandates\" and working to \"put Medicaid on a sustainable and equitable path, with maximum flexibility given to states to tailor systems that meet their residents' needs.\"\n\n\n**Context on Alaska's situation:** \nAlaskans face \"some of the highest healthcare costs in the country, and [\u2026] some of the most expensive premiums.\"", "length_chars": 2654, "selection_score": 5 } ], "races_covered": [ "AK-AL-HOUSE", "AK-GOV", "AK-SEN", "AK-SS-O" ], "candidates_covered": [ "bauer", "begich", "bishop", "blankenship", "bronson", "claman", "crum", "hill", "hughes", "hunt", "kreiss_tomkins", "mcguire", "peltola", "rauscher", "schultz", "sheldon", "sullivan", "taylor", "tom_begich", "walker", "williams", "wilson" ] }