The Alaska House Health and Social Services Committee discussed a bill last week that would introduce mental health education into K-12 public schools. Senate Bill 24, sponsored by Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson (D-Anchorage), would amend the state’s current health education laws to include guidelines on mental health education instruction for students. “The Alaska State Board of … Read more
Alaska lawmakers held a meeting last week to review legislation that would increase behavioral healthcare parity for Medicaid-covered services. House Concurrent Resolution 9 and House Bill 361, both sponsored by Rep. Mike Prax (R-North Pole), seek parity in coverage of benefits for Medicaid mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatments in Alaska. Riley Nye, … Read more
Staff from the Alaska Department of Health (DOH) presented a bill to the legislature that would expand access to school-based services for Medicaid eligible children. Senate Bill 240 is sponsored by the Senate Rules Committee at the request of Gov. Mike Dunleavy. DOH Commissioner Heidi Hedberg introduced the bill at a Senate Health and Social … Read more
The Alaska Senate Health and Social Services Committee met on Tuesday to discuss a bill that would expand eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Sen. Cathy Giessel (R-Anchorage) filed Senate Bill 149 in May. If passed, the bill would make Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) a statewide policy, which would increase income eligibility requirements … Read more
Food pantries in Alaska are struggling to feed people as the Alaska Division of Public Assistance (DPA) works on eliminating a second backlog of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications. DPA recognized the initial SNAP application backlog in the fall of 2022. The Alaska Department of Health (DOH) sent a statement to State of Reform … Read more
With the 2022 Alaska State of Reform Health Policy Conference coming up next week, we wanted to share the list of organizations that will be attending our event. It’s an impressive list and one that we’re honored to host and convene on October 6th! We are looking forward to seeing a couple hundred of our … Read more
The Detailed Agenda for our 2022 Alaska State of Reform Health Policy Conference is now available! Through our extensive stakeholder engagement process, we have put together many exciting panels that will cover the most important topics in Alaska health policy. Join us as we hear from experts across the landscape of Alaska health … Read more
The Topical Agenda for our 2022 Alaska State of Reform Health Policy Conference is now live! State of Reform gathers health care and health policy executives—each working to improve the health care system in their own way—into a united conversation in a single space. At this conference, we’ll explore politics and policy in … Read more
The upcoming split in Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) could provide an opportunity for the state to become a leader in health care reform. Dr. Anne Zink—the chief medical officer for the state—discussed health care initiatives during a March 22 meeting with the Senate Health & Social Services Committee. Simplifying … Read more
Last week, Alaska lawmakers began prefiling bills for the 2022 session. Most of the health care bills deal with COVID-19, including several seeking to limit the state’s ability to enforce or mandate vaccinations. These include HB 238, which would prohibit businesses, state agencies, municipalities, school districts and the University of Alaska from requiring vaccinations if … Read more