Alaska received the nation’s second-highest rural healthcare award, but keeping the more than $1 billion reward requires legislative action which Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, says he hasn’t briefed on.
ANCHORAGE , Alaska - Alaska received the nation’s second-highest rural healthcare award, but keeping the more than $1 billion reward requires legislative action which Senate President Gary Stevens , R- Kodiak , said he hasn’t briefed on.
“I’m anxious to hear from the Governor and Commissioner on their perspective and plans to use these funds,” Stevens told Alaska’s News Source in a message Tuesday. “At this point we need more information and education before we can intelligently comment.” Stevens said senators will have “a lot of questions” on how the funds will be used and who can use them. He said he wasn’t clear on what the funds could be used for, adding they may not cover building new buildings or replacing Medicaid. The funding would expand access to healthcare in rural communities, strengthen the healthcare workforce, and modernize health records systems—but only if the legislature approves policies“That discussion has to occur with the legislature,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy, R-Alaska, saidannouncing the funding Monday. “This is a huge chunk of money that’ll do, I think, a lot of good, but ... there’s things in there, as some would say, prerequisites, to be able to receive the money.” Some of those prerequisites include joining interstate nurse licensure compacts, expanding pharmacist scope of practice, and restricting SNAP benefits for certain foods—which all require legislative or regulatory action, according to the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program application. Dunleavy does plan to meet with lawmakers, though, his spokesperson Jeff Turner told Alaska’s News Source over email Tuesday. He did not say whether the Governor was planning to introduce legislation and that “his office can’t be made available until the first day of session.” House Health & Social Services Chair Rep. Genevieve Mina, D-Anchorage, told Alaska’s News Source conversations over this topic have been covered in the committee, but direct communication with the governor has not happened. “I’ve had conversations with Department of Health leadership on the rural health program,” she said. “I have not talked with the administration about any particular bills.” Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, said she’s been aware of the projects laid out in the state’s application, but wasn’t aware of any legislation needed for it. “The question will be are the agreements that the Department of Health made in getting this funding in the best interest of Alaska,” she said. “That’s really what the legislature’s job is.” For this report, Alaska’s News Source also reached out to the legislature’s House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, NA-Dillingham, House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, House Minority Leader DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, Senate Minority Leader Mike Cronk, R-Tok/Northway. Comment has yet to be provided. Turner noted the legislative budget and audit committee approved a “federal receipt authority for $200 million” in funding at its Nov. 19, meeting—an initial authorization the administration expects lawmakers will be increased to $272 million annually. Turner added Health Department officials have “briefed members of the House and Senate Health and Social Services Committees about the application.”When drafting an application, states are required to include a detailed Rural Health Transformation Plan, according toexplaining the application process from the federal Department of Health and Human Services. In that plan, visions, goals and strategies need to be listed out, which includes “legislative or regulatory action.” From the document’s appendix, it lists that states receive higher scores if they have, among a host of items, bills or have passed legislation restricting “non-nutritious foods” from SNAP benefits, include nutrition in continuing medical education requirements or recognizing the Nurse Licensure Compact, or allowing nurses to practice in states to work “seamlessly in other NLC states, without obtaining additional licenses,” according to the nonprofit Nurses Council of State Boards of Nursing.“States will have until December 31, 2028, to follow through on meeting their policy commitments,” according to the . If those commitments proposed in the application aren’t met, the funding can be withheld, reduced or recovered., which the governor and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, both described as “strong,” the state made promises that through regulatory and state action, some of these goals will be met, if they haven’t already. One of those goals the state said the legislature would accomplish by the end of 2027 was to expand the scope of practice for clinicians, which they say would “increase health service supply.” “Alaska will enact policy changes to expand scope of practice for pharmacists by 12/31/27, consistent with full authority,” the document reads, noting H.B. 195, authored by Mina. The licensure compact, which the state says in their application “will join all licensure compacts ... by 12/31/27,″ cites existingand now sits in the Labor & Commerce Committee. Mina said the topic may struggle to get passed. “Topics like the nurse licensure compact have been discussed for years and years in the legislature,” she said. “It’s been a bit of a controversial issue and we need to invest in our nursing workforce in a way where we’re not focused on singular policies, but we’re looking at a big comprehensive strategy.” Giessel shared similar sentiments, saying legislation on just this topic has been presented over the last several years but they “have not proceeded forward.”After some small shake-ups, including the Senate minority leader leaving office to run for Lieutenant Governor, several high-priority legislative issues are likely to take center stage during Dunleavy’s last session as governor. “It’s going to be a very interesting session in more ways than one,” Dunleavy told a reporter Monday. “Having this announcement today gives people time to think about this. They’re going to be able to take a look at the application, see what’s in there, and then we can ... discuss where we’re going to go with some of these things.”Similar to Stevens’ comments on the Rural Health Transformation Fund, Edgmon said“Ordinarily, a bill of this nature could take two sessions and not one, but if, in fact, the AKLNG project is at a stage where things need to move pretty quickly, ... any advance time, any sort of extra opportunity to work on this issue before we get to Juneau would be a great help,” Edgmon said. The impact on Western Alaska, including the devastated villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, is also likely to be a“I think we have a lot of soul searching to do,” Edgmon told Alaska’s News Source in October, while on the ground in Western Alaska. “How to protect our villages going forward, how to certainly provide shelter when an event like this takes place - I think we have a lot to look at and a lot to be concerned about.”
Alaska Governor Anchorage Alaska Healthcare Rural Health Transformation Fund RHTP Rep. Genevieve Mina Gary Stevens AKLEG Alaska Senate Alaska House Of Representatives Sen. Cathy Giessel Kodiak Alaska House Speaker Bryce Edgmon Delena Johnson Chuck Kopp Mike Cronk Dillingham Alaska Department Of Health Health And Social Services Committees NLC SNAP
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