Overview
According to data from the Council for Community and Economic Research, health services in Alaska are 70 – 200 percent more expensive than the national average. Many pressures influence Alaska’s health-care costs. They include expenses related to recruiting providers from out of state, lack of competition, the state’s small population.
In 2016, Alaska passed a law which set up a $55 million fund for the Alaska Reinsurance Program (ARP), financed through an existing tax on all insurance companies, to subsidize enrollees’ costs as the state struggles with Obamacare price spikes. Alaska Governor Bill Walker said the program would ensure that the 23,000 Alaskans enrolled in exchange plans would not suddenly lose their insurance. The state also received CMS approval for federal passthrough to partially finance the ARP, which would fully or partially reimburse insurers for incurred claims for high-risk enrollees diagnosed with certain health conditions.
In recent legislative terms, Alaska sought legislative solutions to skyrocketing healthcare costs in terms of price transparency and cost containment. Most notably, the legislature made repeated attempts to establish an all-payer claims database (APCD). The legislature also continued to introduced bills that would create a shared savings incentive program that encourages patients to become active consumers and to actively shop for the most competitive prices for care. Other price transparency measures propose to limit how much an insurance company must reimburse an out-of-network provider for covered services and would require providers and medical facilities to disclose the undiscounted costs of their most common procedures.
See below for an overview of existing Alaska state mandates. Click on citation tab for detailed information of specific statutes (click link to download statute text).
State Action
Latest Legislative Session: 1/17/2023 - 4/17/2022 (2023-2024 term). *Current session bill updates are ongoing. Check back weekly for updates.
HB 108 (see companion bill SB 3) – Alaska
Introduced: 2023 Status: In Process
House Bill 108 will provide Alaskans with the information that they need to plan financially for their health care decisions. The bill requires health care providers and insurers to disclose full cost information to patients …
HB 112 (see companion bill SB 94) – Alaska
Introduced: 2023 Status: In Process
An Act relating to the Board of Pharmacy; relating to the practice of pharmacy; relating to pharmacies; relating to prescription drug manufacturers; relating to prescriptions for epinephrine; relating to the administration of epinephrine; and providing …
HB 113 (see companion bill SB 93) – Alaska
Introduced: 2021 Status: Inactive / Dead
An Act relating to the establishment of an all-payer health claims database; and providing for an effective date.
HB 123 (see companion bill SB 119) – Alaska
Introduced: 2017 Status: Inactive / Dead
An Act relating to disclosure of health care services and price information; relating to health care insurers; relating to availability of payment information and estimates of out-of-pocket expenses; relating to an incentive program for electing …
HB 135 (see companion bill SB 112) – Alaska
Introduced: 2019 Status: Inactive / Dead
An Act relating to medical assistance for needy persons; relating to material incorporated by reference; relating to payment for prescribed drugs; and providing for an effective date. All residents of the state for whom the …
Alaska Stat. § 21.96.120. Waiver for state innovation: Miscellaneous Provisions – Alaska
Introduced: Status: Enacted
The director may apply to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services under 42 U.S.C. 18052 for a waiver of applicable provisions of P.L. 111-148 (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) with respect …
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Alaska Stat. § 21.96.200. Good faith estimate: Miscellaneous Provisions – Alaska
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Upon request of a covered person who is receiving nonemergency health care services, a health care insurer shall provide a good faith estimate of the amount of the reasonably anticipated charges for treating the patient’s …
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Alaska Stat. § 39.35.535. Medical benefits: Public Employees’ Retirement System of Alaska – Alaska
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Outlines the qualifications for a retired public employee to receive insurance.
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Alaska Stat. § 44.33.381. Telemedicine business registry: Telemedicine Business Registry – Alaska
Introduced: Status: Enacted
“telemedicine services” means the delivery of health care services using the transfer of medical data through audio, visual, or data communications that are performed over two or more locations by a provider who is physically …
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Alaska Stat. § 47.07.030. Medical services to be provided: Medical Assistance for Needy Persons – Alaska
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Details the medical services that Alaskan Medicaid must offer.
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In re: Suboxone Antitrust Litigation (State of Wisconsin, et al. v. Indivior Inc, et al.) – Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
District Court: E.D. Pennsylvania Status: Pending
In September 2016, 35 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia brought a multi-district case against pharmaceutical manufacturer Indivior, MonoSol RX et al., alleging …
In Re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation – Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania Status: Pending
Plaintiffs are attorney generals from 48 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, as well as classes of private plaintiffs that filed an antitrust …
Additional Resources
STATE BUDGET
Alaska budgets on an annual budget cycle with the fiscal year beginning July 1stand ending June 30th. The governor will submit his or her proposed budget to the state legislature by December 15 and the legislature will adopt a budget by simple majority in April. To view Alaska’s budget for the latest fiscal year, click here.
REGULATION & ENFORCEMENT
- In April 2017, Department of Justice and the FTC issued a joint statement regarding proposed legislation repealing the state’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws. The agencies recommended that Alaska repeal its CON laws, which require healthcare providers to obtain state approval before expanding, establishing new facilities or services, or making certain large capital expenditures.
KEY RESOURCES