HCR 24: Creating the Alaska Health Care Commission.
00HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 24 01 Creating the Alaska Health Care Commission. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 WHEREAS health insurance costs and health care costs continue to soar; and 04 WHEREAS a growing number of Alaskans cannot afford either health insurance or 05 health care services; and 06 WHEREAS many Alaskans live outside the urban centers where most health care 07 providers are located; and 08 WHEREAS there is a drain on the Alaska economy resulting from health care dollars 09 leaving the state because more than 40 percent of the health care and hospital services 10 provided to Alaskans are provided out of state; and 11 WHEREAS Alaskans lack the information they need to evaluate the fair market value 12 of health care services; and 13 WHEREAS there is a growing disparity between Medicaid, insurance, and cash 14 customer rates charged by health care providers;
01 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature establishes the Alaska Health 02 Care Commission to evaluate and recommend to the Governor, the legislature, and the 03 residents of Alaska options for improvement of Alaska's health care delivery system; and be 04 it 05 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission shall consist of 12 06 voting members who are Alaska residents, appointed as follows: 07 (1) four members appointed by the Speaker of the House, one of whom shall 08 be a member of the majority caucus, one of whom shall be a member of a minority caucus, 09 one of whom shall be a representative of the insurance industry, and one of whom shall be 10 a representative of the health care provider industry; 11 (2) four members appointed by the President of the Senate, one of whom shall 12 be a member of the majority caucus, and one of whom shall be a member of a minority 13 caucus, one of whom shall be a representative of the insurance industry, and one of whom 14 shall be a representative of the health care provider industry; 15 (3) four members appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall represent the 16 interests of the state's public health programs, one of whom shall represent federal health 17 programs administered in the state, and two of whom shall be public members who represent 18 Alaska health care consumers; and be it 19 FURTHER RESOLVED that the following three persons may serve on the Alaska 20 Health Care Commission as nonvoting members: the commissioners of health and social 21 services, administration, and community and economic development, or their designees; and 22 be it 23 FURTHER RESOLVED that the public members of the Alaska Health Care 24 Commission shall serve without compensation but are entitled to per diem and travel expenses 25 authorized for boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180; and be it 26 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission shall select a chair 27 and vice-chair from among its members, and the chair shall vote only to break a tie; the 28 commission shall meet as frequently as the commission determines necessary, and the 29 commission may meet and vote by teleconference; and be it 30 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission shall prepare a 31 report that includes the following:
01 (1) evaluation of the option of creating a publicly or privately held trust with 02 administrative powers to oversee an Alaska health care delivery system; 03 (2) evaluation of options for new uses of telemedicine to provide better and 04 more efficient health care delivery to remote areas of Alaska; and 05 (3) evaluation of options for moving toward requiring health care providers to 06 charge the same rates for services to every consumer and toward free market rate setting; and 07 be it 08 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission shall present a 09 preliminary report to the Governor and the legislature by January 1, 2001, that 10 (1) outlines the options being evaluated; 11 (2) describes an action plan, including a public participation process, outlining 12 a detailed work schedule for preparation of the final report; and 13 (3) includes proposed legislation that would authorize temporary support staff 14 for the commission; and be it 15 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission shall submit a draft 16 report by January 1, 2002, and a final report by March 30, 2002, to the Governor and the 17 legislature; and be it 18 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission may propose 19 legislation to extend the final report date; and be it 20 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission is authorized to 21 begin work immediately upon the appointment of its full membership or by June 15, 2000, 22 whichever date is earlier, and that the Alaska Health Care Commission is terminated on 23 March 30, 2002, unless extended under other legislation.