{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=0cc5ae7a-dd44-424e-823d-ee2552ffea66", "Murkowski: Health Care Cost Increases Aren\u2019t Statistics, They Are Alaskans", "2013-11-05", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "AK", "Lisa Murkowski", "M001153", "www.murkowski.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.05.13\n\t\t\t Murkowski: Health Care Cost Increases Aren\u2019t Statistics, They Are Alaskans \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Letters from Fairbanks, Anchorage, Petersburg, Valdez and Others Read on Floor\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014On the heels of her Committee Hearing exchange with the CMS Administrator earlier, Senator Lisa Murkowski today took the stories of everyday Alaskans with her to the floor of the United States Senate, in order to have more time to fully share their concerns and frustrations at the rollout of the health care exchanges in Alaska \u2013 both in terms of technical glitches and sticker shock at the dramatic rise in premiums.\r\nAt the opening of her speech, Senator Murkowski recounted the questions she raised to the CMS Administrator earlier \u2013 focusing on website glitches and rising anxieties \u2013 before turning towards the authentic voices of Alaskans who have looked into the heath care law and been surprised at the higher costs they are finding.\u00a0 Senator Murkowski shared the stories of:\r\n \r\nA Fairbanks family who runs a knife and tool shop expecting to see a 60% leap in their premium.\r\nA woman over 55 years old who expects to see a $1,500 monthly premium, who wrote \u201cThis is more than our mortgage. This is like a second mortgage.\u201d\r\nAn Anchorage woman worried about a 23% increase in her monthly premium.\r\nA 25 year old non-smoker from Petersburg whose monthly charges are rising from $102 to $281.\r\nA 41 year old Valdez man who says his estimated premium increase is 85 percent.\r\n \r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\n(Senator Lisa Murkowski shares Alaskans\u2019 letters with her Senate colleagues \u2013 click image to view excerpt.\u00a0 Click here for entire speech.)\r\n\u00a0\r\nWhen Senator Murkowski concluded her summary of the interaction she has had with Alaskans, she told her colleagues on the Senate floor, \u201cWe go through these stories \u2026 These\u00a0stories are people that I represent.\u201d\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n     \n\t\n \n\t\n    \n    \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t  \n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=0cc5ae7a-dd44-424e-823d-ee2552ffea66"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.376820193603635, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}