Legislature(2025 - 2026)SENATE FINANCE 532
03/05/2025 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute | |
| Presentation: Department of Health; Fy 25 – Fy45 Medicaid Enrollment and Spending in Alaska Report (mesa) | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
March 5, 2025
9:01 a.m.
9:01:00 AM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Hoffman called the Senate Finance Committee
meeting to order at 9:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Lyman Hoffman, Co-Chair
Senator Bert Stedman, Co-Chair
Senator Mike Cronk
Senator James Kaufman
Senator Jesse Kiehl
Senator Kelly Merrick
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Donny Olson, Co-Chair
ALSO PRESENT
Jeremy Woodrow, Executive Director, Alaska Seafood
Marketing Institute; Ted Helvoight, President, Evergreen
Economics; Senator Cathy Giessel.
SUMMARY
PRESENTATION: ALASKA SEAFOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE
PRESENTATION: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; FY 25 FY45 MEDICAID
ENROLLMENT AND SPENDING IN ALASKA REPORT (MESA)
^PRESENTATION: ALASKA SEAFOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE
9:02:04 AM
JEREMY WOODROW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA SEAFOOD
MARKETING INSTITUTE, (ASMI) discussed the presentation,
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute" (copy on file). He
highlighted slide 3, "Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute":
As Alaska's official seafood marketing arm, ASMI is
established under AS 16.51 to maximize the economic
value of the Alaska seafood resource by:
? Building and protecting the Alaska Seafood brand
? Developing and creating markets for Alaska seafood
products
? Working directly with the seafood industry to
maximize efforts
ASMI is directed by a Governor-appointed Board of
Directors: Five Processors, Two Commercial Harvesters;
and Nine board-appointed Species and Operational
Advisory Committees.
Mr. Woodrow addressed slide 4, "ASMI Programs":
International Marketing
Domestic Marketing
Seafood Technical
Communications
Global Food Aid
Mr. Woodrow discussed slide 5, "ASMI Budget":
FY2025 Budget*
• Seafood Marketing Assessment
•$16,386.1 (0.5 percent of ex-vessel value)
• Federal Funds
•$13,036.4
•Market Access Program (MAP)
•Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP)
•Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant (SK)
•Cochran Fellowship
•Emerging Markets Program (EMP)
•Quality Samples Program (QSP)
• $0.0 UGF
Total FY2025: $29,422.5
FY2025 Spend Plan: $23,352.5
FY2026 Budget Request*
• Seafood Marketing Assessment
• $13,533.0 (0.5 percent of ex-vessel value)
• Federal Funds
• $13,023.5
• Market Access Program (MAP)
• Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP)
• Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant (SK)
• Cochran Fellowship
• Emerging Markets Program (EMP)
• Quality Samples Program (QSP)
• $10,000.0 UGF (supplemental, FY2025-FY2027)
FY2026 spend plan set by ASMI Board in May
Mr. Woodrow pointed to slide 6, "ASMI Budget Breakdown
The slide offered a bar graph of the ASMI FY2025 Spend Plan
broken down into state and federal funds in the following
categories: Food Aid, Technical, Executive/Prof Services,
Communications and PR, Domestic, International SDPR and
Fed. Numbers are in thousands.
9:07:08 AM
Mr. Woodrow addressed slide 7, "ASMI Spend Plan and
Revenue He stated that FY25-FY30 were projected funds and
that the $10 million request would be spent over FY25,
FY26, and FY27. He said that there was a dramatic drop in
statutory designated program receipts in FY24, FY25, and
FY26, due to a drop in exvessel prices. He relayed that the
requested $10 million would allow for ASMI to continue its
aggressive marketing program. He noted the teal line, which
reflected and increase in spending in response to various
marketplace variables.
Mr. Woodrow displayed slide 8, "ASMI Revenue History He
noted that in 2011 through 2016, ASMI had received a large
amount of UGF, which was reduced in 2017 and eliminated in
2019. He said that funding had become volatile, and a
consistent marketing plan had been maintained to address
the different marketing concerns.
Mr. Woodrow discussed slide 9, "Alaska Seafood Industry
Situational Overview":
• Excess Inventories of key species harvested in
Alaska and other countries in 2022 and 2023
• Decreasing Consumer Demand: inflation spending
• Russian War in Ukraine: historic low prices
• Unfair Trade Policies: both export/import
• Increased Costs:
• Capital cost to carry inventory
• Labor inflation - operational costs
• Global Shipping International and Lower-48
• Sustainability, social responsibility, environmental
compliance, insurance, and storage
The cost to execute Alaska's fisheries is not price
competitive with global competition.
Mr. Woodrow addressed slide 10, "FREEDOM FISH":
• Federal Executive Order 14068: Bans Russian Seafood
from U.S.
• In 2022, 70,000 metric tons of Russian seafood
valued at $452 million entered U.S. market
• Opportunity for all Alaska seafood species
• Near-term focus: Pink and Chum Salmon, Sablefish,
Pollock/Surimi, Flatfish
• Norway, Chile, Iceland, and farmed whitefish also
taking advantage of ban
Mr. Woodrow looked at slide 11, "Budget Request and Three-
Year Goals
Capitalize on the Russian import ban and increase U.S.
domestic market share of Alaska seafood
Gain more than 50 percent of the sales left behind
from the Russia seafood ban.
Increase Alaska Seafood brand recognition of key
species by 10 percent
Promote wild Alaska seafood with an emphasis on Alaska
sockeye, pink, and keta salmon, as well as sablefish,
pollock, and surimi.
Differentiate Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management
(RFM) in the U.S. domestic market as the preferred
origin-based certification program
Counter the MSC ecolabel that continues to certify
Russian seafood in the global marketplace.
9:14:40 AM
Mr. Woodrow pointed to slide 12, "FY 2025 Supplemental: $10
Million
9:15:05 AM
Co-Chair Stedman recalled that during the budget cycle a
year ago there had been an opportunity to spend $10 million
to market aggressively to supplant Russian product with
Alaskan product. It was vetoed by the administration. He
spoke to the current $10 million request over the next
three years. He stressed that by the time the budget was
signed FY25 would be halfway over. He wondered why the
funding had not been set to begin in FY26.
9:16:58 AM
Mr. Woodrow replied with details from slide 7. He said that
if the budget passed soon and quickly, ASMI could use the
funds as early as June.
9:18:20 AM
Co-Chair Stedman thought that a supplemental budget
increase for FY25 was unlikely. He hoped the Operating
Budget would be signed quickly and funding for FY26 would
be available to ASMI in time to save marketing the
industry. He thought that the timeframes in the slide
should be adjusted to FY26 and FY 27, which he believed
would benefit the industry and protect against financial
insolvency.
9:20:29 AM
Co-Chair Hoffman agreed.
9:20:34 AM
Senator Kaufman remarked that relationship with Russia was
changing rapidly. He wondered about marketing Freedom
Fish and whether that tact was wise in a changing world.
9:21:40 AM
Mr. Woodrow addressed slide 13:
"Pricing is the highest motivating factor in
purchasing Frozen Fish, with 'Wild Caught' and
'Freshness' on-pack also being important."
-Circana
Mr. Woodrow looked at slide 14, "The Power of Alaska
Seafood."
Mr. Woodrow discussed slide 15, "Public Relations and
Earned Media
Mr. Woodrow pointed to slide 16, "Omnichannel Promotions
Mr. Woodrow addressed slide 17, "US Retail Return on
Investment":
•Over 13,500,000 impressions with over 24,000 clicks
•The click-through-rate (CTR) was 0.18 percent (with
an average CTR of 0.14 percent)
•83.21 percent OSB rate (Orders Sent to Basket)
•Publix alone saw a 7.2 percent sales lift throughout
the campaign
Chicory digital campaign to drive sales for Alaska
sockeye at Kroger, Sam's Club, and Publix:
$2.4 million in total sales
•18 million impressions
•23.6 percent redemption rate 8x higher than
benchmark
•50 percent follow-on purchaser
•26 percent follow-on of new purchasers and 2.65
average follow-on units purchased per trip the number
of average units purchased per shopping trip after the
campaign ended
Ibotta U.S. digital coupon offering $1 off any brand
of frozen or canned Alaska seafood:
9,000 units daily!
9:27:49 AM
Mr. Woodrow looked at slide 18, "Sushi at Retail":
Alaska Cruise Giveaway with FujiSan Sushi
Over 60,000 entries in only 30 days!
Amplifies Alaska Seafood's reach into sushi
Available at 500 Sam's Club locations; FujiSan
partnered with independent Sam's Club influencers,
collectively reaching over 100,000 viewers
Mr. Woodrow looked at slide 19, "Building Lasting
Promotions
9:30:36 AM
Mr. Woodrow discussed slide 20, "U.S. Foodservice Return on
Investment":
•Window clings, drive-thru signage, POS screens, radio
and a silent video loop running constantly in-store
•Website and Taco John's app deployments
•1.5 million reach from media coverage
•ASMI investment: $15,000
Taco John's Partnership
50,000 lbs Lent 2024
or every $1 ASMI invests in promotions, the
distributer sells over $616 of Alaska Seafood
•ASMI FY2024 distributor promos sold over 11.7 million
pounds totaling $120,159,000 in sales
Distributor Promotions Deliver Significant ROI
$120M in FY2024!
9:31:41 AM
Co-Chair Stedman queried any marketing opportunities with
the cruise industry. He wondered why people onboard cruise
ships were eating farmed fish.
9:31:55 AM
Mr. Woodrow replied that it came down to price point. The
cruise industry wanted to buy fish at prices lower than
businesses were willing to entertain. He said some cruise
ships had higher end restaurants onboard that served Alaska
seafood. He added that representatives from the seafood
industry would employee Cruise Ship Ambassadors who offered
presentations on the ships and directed people to where
they can purchase Alaska Seafood.
9:33:11 AM
Mr. Woodrow looked at slide 21, "International Marketing
Program
ASMI collaborates with the seafood industry to
establish new markets and enhance opportunities for
Alaska's diverse seafood portfolio across 53
countries.
About 65-70 percent by value of Alaska seafood
production exported annually to 100 countries.
China/South Korea largest trading partners primarily
for transshipping and reprocessing.
Japan/Europe largest direct foreign markets.
75 percent of pollock, keta salmon, and flatfish
species exported.
U.S. has largest market share with more than 30
percent by value.
Mr. Woodrow pointed to slide 22, "Alaska Seafood Export
Value by Region
9:36:46 AM
Senator Kiehl asked where the fish were ultimately
consumed.
9:37:03 AM
Mr. Woodrow replied that Alaskas largest consumer markets
were Europe and Japan, with growing markets in Southeast
Asia and South America.
9:37:41 AM
Mr. Woodrow discussed slide 23, "Southeast Asia Market
Development":
ASMI SE Asia program started May 2019 (Thailand,
Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the
Philippines)
Trade shows, trade missions, chef collaborations,
retail partnerships, influencers, etc.
Alaska seafood exports in 2018: $97.3 million
Alaska seafood exports in 2022: $139.6 million
Program expenses: $1.5 million
Growth of flatfish exports: $0.5 million (2018) to
$11 million (2022)
Consistent growth in premium species like sockeye
9:39:11 AM
Mr. Woodrow looked at slide 24, "International Trade and
Tariffs":
Alaska Seafood products compete with countless
products and numerous countries in every single
market.
U.S. seafood products generally face higher tariff
rates than seafood from competing seafood producing
countries.
Alaska Seafood is often collateral damage in trade
negotiations.
While Russian seafood is banned from the U.S., it is
not restricted elsewhere.
9:42:18 AM
Mr. Woodrow discussed slide 25:
Capitalize on the Russian import ban and grow U.S.
domestic sales of Alaska seafood by over 50 percent
Increase Alaska Seafood brand recognition of key
species by 10 percent
Differentiate Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management
(RFM) in the U.S. domestic market
9:42:47 AM
Co-Chair Hoffman asked how Alaska compared to the rest of
the work on marketing spending.
Mr. Woodrow shared that Alaskas biggest competitor was the
Norwegian Seafood Council, which had a budget of
approximately $55 million, spending $5 million in The
United States. He added that Canada had a budget equal or
larger than Alaskas.
9:44:00 AM
Senator Cronk doubted that he had one constituent that
would want a single dollar used to advertise pollock. He
thought that the Trawling Industry could pay for their own
marketing.
9:44:50 AM
Mr. Woodrow thanked the committee.
^PRESENTATION: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; FY 25 FY45 MEDICAID
ENROLLMENT AND SPENDING IN ALASKA REPORT (MESA)
9:45:38 AM
TED HELVOIGHT, PRESIDENT, EVERGREEN ECONOMICS, discussed
the presentation, "MESA FY2025 FY2045, Long-Term Forecast
of Medicaid Enrollment and Spending in Alaska" (copy on
file).
9:46:15 AM
Mr. Helvoight looked at slide 2, "Long-Term Medicaid
Forecast ('MESA'):
• Requested by the Alaska Legislature in 2005
• First forecast completed in 2006
• 20-year projection updated annually
• Assumes current Medicaid structure remains in place
• Provides a baseline for analysis of proposed
initiatives
• Provides insights into trends in AK population,
Medicaid enrollment, utilization, reimbursement rates,
and spending
9:47:25 AM
Mr. Helvoight discussed slide 3, "Medicaid Enrollment and
Spending in Alaska
? Bending the Medicaid cost curve
? Recent trends and events
? FY2025-FY2045 projection
? Chronic conditions and Medicaid
Mr. Helvoight pointed to slide 4, "Bending the Medicaid
Cost Curve
• Cost containment efforts have worked.
• Spending has been much lower than was projected in
2006.
• However, growth in spending has ticked up over the
past few years.
Mr. Helvoight displayed slide 5, "Many More Alaskans
Receiving Medicaid
Services":
• Recipient counts closely tracked the 2006 projection
until Medicaid expansion in FY2016.
• After rising sharply in FY2021 and FY2022, recipient
counts were flat in FY2023 and dropped in FY2024.
9:49:54 AM
Mr. Helvoight looked at slide 6, "Spending Per Recipient Is
No Longer Growing Slowly":
• For nearly 20 years, cost containment initiatives by
DOH succeeded in suppressing growth in spending.
• However, inflationary pressures on providers has led
to relatively substantial increases in reimbursement
rates since FY2022.
9:51:14 AM
Mr. Helvoight addressed slide 8, "Medicaid Enrollment and
Recipients Before and After COVID":
• Enrollment grew rapidly during COVID-19 pandemic,
increasing by
40,000 between March 2020 and April 2023.
• Enrollment declined by 18,000 between April 2023 and
December 2024.
• Recipient counts vary considerably month-to-month
but have averaged about 120,000 per month over past
three years.
9:53:18 AM
Mr. Helvoight pointed to slide 9, "Medicaid Spending Has
Not Dropped":
Total spending on Medicaid claims varies month-to-
month but continues to grow.
Mr. Helvoight looked at slide 10, "GF Spending Has Also
Continued to Grow":
General Fund spending on Medicaid claims varies month-
to-month but continues to grow.
Mr. Helvoight displayed slide 11, "Recipients Per Month
Remains Flat":
Medicaid unwinding has not impacted the number of
recipients with paid claims each month.
9:55:21 AM
Mr. Helvoight highlighted slide 12, "Spending Per Recipient
Has Grown Rapidly":
Between December 2022 and December 2024, average
spending per recipient increased by 18 percent, which
equates to 8.7 percent per year.
9:56:00 AM
Mr. Helvoight pointed to slide 13, "Medicaid Spending,
Enrollment, and Recipients":
• Enrollment growth primarily due to expansion and
continuous enrollment.
• Enrollment and recipient counts have diverged.
• FFP has covered most of the increased spending
through FY2024.
Mr. Helvoight shared that in FY2012 the number of enrollees
and the number of recipients in the program were lower and
closer together. He said that as time had progressed the
separation between those utilizing services and those
enrolled only had increased. He shared that in FY2024, less
than 7 out of 10 Medicaid enrollees used services. He
speculated that during the continuous enrollment period
there were many people who did not know they were on
Medicaid. He stressed that there were many people on
Medicaid who were not using the services. He stated that
the blue bars represented state spending, the grey
represented federal spending. He noted that,
proportionately, the federal government had spent much more
on the program than had the state. He said that Medicaid
expansion had been beneficial to the state.
9:59:10 AM
Co-Chair Hoffman asked about the federal spending to
Medicaid under the current administration at the national
level.
9:59:17 AM
Mr. Helvoight replied that the greatest risk for Alaksa was
what would happen to the federal match for the expansion
population.
10:01:06 AM
Senator Kiehl asked about the possibility that people were
unaware they were enrolled in Medicare. H e wondered
whether those folks were not receiving primary or
preventative care or paying for more expansive care.
10:01:44 AM
Mr. Helvoight replied that he did not know.
10:02:57 AM
Mr. Helvoight addressed slide 14, "Comparison to Other
States":
• We compared growth in Medicaid spending in Alaska to
spending growth in six comparison states.
• Each state experienced growth in Medicaid spending
between FY2016 and FY2023, but only Alaska experienced
a decrease in General Fund spending.
• Alaska (along with Montana, North Dakota, and
Wyoming) also experienced a decrease in average
spending per enrollee between FY2016 and FY2023.
10:05:16 AM
Mr. Helvoight highlighted slide 15, "Comparison to Private
Insurance in Alaska":
• Enrollment in private insurance has been flat.
• Cost per enrollee has risen faster for private
insurance.
10:07:39 AM
Mr. Helvoight pointed to slide 17, "Alaska's Population Is
Aging and Shrinking":
• Expected to decline slightly over next 20 years
• Driven by a drop in the number of children
• Slight growth in the adult 2064 population
• Modest growth in the senior population
• Trends impact more than just Medicaid
10:09:11 AM
Mr. Helvoight addressed slide 18, "Medicaid Reimbursement
Rates and Medical
Price Inflation":
• Before FY2021, medical price inflation in Alaska
outpaced Medicaid reimbursement rates by about 3.6
percentage points per year.
• From FY2021 through FY2023, Medicaid reimbursement
rates grew faster than medical price inflation.
• Between FY2017 and FY2024, Medicaid reimbursement
rates increased by 27 percent and medical price
inflation increased by 44 percent.
10:11:32 AM
Mr. Helvoight looked at slide 19, "Faster Forecasted Growth
in Spending":
• Last year's forecast was for average annual growth
of 4.4 percent.
• Unwinding has had little impact on Medicaid
spending.
• Increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates are likely
"permanent".
• Continued shift toward IHS FFP rate.
10:13:00 AM
Mr. Helvoight pointed to slide 20, "Growth in Reimbursement
Rates Will Drive Spending Growth":
Growth in recipients, utilization, and intensity of
Medicaid services will have relatively modest impacts
on spending growth.
Mr. Helvoight discussed slide 21, "Impact of Allowing
Reimbursement Rates to Grow at Same Rate as Medical Price
Inflation":
Allowing Medicaid reimbursement rates to grow at the
same rate as medical price inflation would add nearly
$800 million to Medicaid by FY2045.
10:15:43 AM
Mr. Helvoight highlighted slide 23, "Medicaid Spending Is
Driven by A Relatively Small Proportion of Recipients":
• The 1 percent of recipients with highest costs
account for 22 percent of Medicaid spending.
• The 10 percent of recipients with highest costs
account for 67 percent of Medicaid spending.
• The 50 percent of recipients with lowest costs
account for only 4 percent of Medicaid spending
10:17:56 AM
Mr. Helvoight looked at slide 24, "Chronic Conditions and
Age, FY2024":
• Analyzed FY2024 claims data to identify recipients
diagnosed with any of 64 different chronic conditions.
• Defined a recipient as having a specific chronic
condition if he or she received two diagnoses for the
condition during FY2024.
• The number of recipients diagnosed with one or more
chronic conditions has remained stable since FY2019.
10:19:30 AM
Mr. Helvoight pointed to slide 25, "Chronic Conditions
Drive Medicaid Spending":
Utilization and spending on Medicaid services is
directly related to the number of chronic condition
diagnoses an individual receives.
10:20:47 AM
Mr. Helvoight looked at slide 26, "High-Cost Recipients and
Chronic Conditions":
The 10 percent of Medicaid recipients with highest
costs are much more likely to have one or more
diagnosed chronic conditions.
10:22:01 AM
Mr. Helvoight addressed slide 27, "Chronic Conditions Drive
Growth in Medicaid Spending":
Today, 81 percent of Medicaid spending is on services
for recipients diagnosed with one or more chronic
conditions.
This will increase to 84 percent by FY2045.
Mr. Helvoight highlighted slide 29, "Medical Price
Inflation vs. Medicaid
Reimbursement Rates":
• Medical care component of the Consumer Price Index
(MCPI) includes only those parts of healthcare goods,
services, and health insurance premiums paid for by
consumers "out of pocket."
• Medicaid Reimbursement Rates are the amounts paid to
providers by the Medicaid program for covered medical
and related services based on fee schedules, which are
reviewed annually, biennially, or triennially, and are
periodically updated based on these reviews.
10:23:18 AM
Senator Kaufman wondered about fraud and whether the
numbers had been audited to find fraud.
10:23:55 AM
Mr. Helvoight replied in the affirmative and stated that
his assumption was that all the numbers were legitimate. He
said that there was a group that investigated fraud and
waste on a continual basis.
10:24:31 AM
Senator Kaufman thought that it would be interesting to
know the reality within the numbers. He asked whether there
were any macrotrends that were at risk of driving up costs.
Mr. Helvoight thought that the number of individuals with a
diagnosed behavior health or substance abuse condition had
increased, which he believed could contribute to increased
costs. He said that those clients were more likely to use
the emergency room and use inpatient hospital services.
10:26:57 AM
Senator Kaufman asked whether there had been any changes on
the supply side that the committee should be aware of.
10:27:00 AM
Mr. Helvoight replied that he did not have enough
information to respond.
Co-Chair Hoffman discussed the following day's agenda.
ADJOURNMENT
10:28:01 AM
The meeting was adjourned at 10:28 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 030325 DOH MESA - Final Report - 022125.pdf |
SFIN 3/5/2025 9:00:00 AM |
|
| 030525 DOH MESA FY2025-FY2045.pdf |
SFIN 3/5/2025 9:00:00 AM |
|
| 030525 ASMI - Senate Finance 3-5-25.pdf |
SFIN 3/5/2025 9:00:00 AM |