CSHCR 24(HES): Creating the Alaska Health Care Commission.
00CS FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 24(HES) 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 a 04 growing number of Alaskans are having difficulty affording health insurance or health care 05 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 because nearly 40 percent of 09 Alaska health care resources are sent out of state in the form of payments for insurance 10 premiums, health care, and hospital services; 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 Alaska employers, and one of whom shall 14 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 the commission and its members are 30 entitled to use the services, supplies, equipment, and staff support of the legislative 31 information offices of the Legislative Affairs Agency during regular business hours; and be
01 it 02 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission may, with the prior 03 approval of the legislative council, submit applications to the federal government for grants 04 for the activities of the commission; and be it 05 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission shall prepare a 06 report that includes plans and evaluation of 07 (1) the option of creating a publicly or privately held trust with administrative 08 powers to oversee an Alaska health care delivery system; 09 (2) options to enable creation of health cooperatives; 10 (3) options to enable creation of medical savings accounts; and 11 (4) other potential non-insurance alternatives for improving the accessibility 12 and affordability of health care for Alaskans; and be it 13 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission shall present a 14 report to the Governor and the legislature by January 1, 2001, that 15 (1) outlines the options being evaluated; 16 (2) describes an action plan, including a public participation process, outlining 17 a detailed work schedule for preparation of the final report; and 18 (3) may include a request for an extension of the commission until January 30, 19 2002; and be it 20 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission may propose 21 legislation to extend the final report date; and be it 22 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Health Care Commission is authorized to 23 begin work immediately upon the appointment of its full membership or by June 15, 2000, 24 whichever date is earlier, and that the Alaska Health Care Commission is terminated on 25 January 8, 2001, unless extended under other legislation.