Legislature(2011 - 2012)BUTROVICH 205
02/07/2011 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview: Department of Health and Social Services | |
| Presentation: Alaska Health Care Commission | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 7, 2011
1:32 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bettye Davis, Chair
Senator Dennis Egan
Senator Johnny Ellis
Senator Kevin Meyer
Senator Fred Dyson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES
- HEARD
PRESENTATION: ALASKA HEALTH CARE COMMISSION
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
WILLIAM J. STREUR, Commissioner
Department of Health and Social Services
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented Department of Health and Social
Services overview.
ALLISON ELGEE, Assistant Commissioner
Division of Finance Management
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented Department of Health and Social
Services overview.
DEBORAH ERICKSON, Director
Alaska Health Care Commission
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented Health Care Commission report.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:32:03 PM
CHAIR BETTYE DAVIS called the Senate Health and Social Services
Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:32 p.m. Present at the
call to order were Senators Ellis, Dyson, Egan, and Chair Davis.
^Overview: Department of Health and Social Services
Department of Health and Social Services Overview
CHAIR DAVIS announced the committee would hear an overview from
the Department of Health & Social Services.
SENATOR MEYER joined the meeting.
1:33:30 PM
WILLIAM J. STREUR, Commissioner, Department of Health and Social
Services, said the department's vision is that all individuals
and families in the state are healthy, safe, and productive, and
its mission is to promote and protect the health and well-being
of Alaskans. He explained the department's strategies include
more integration of services, strategic technology use,
promoting rural infrastructure, development and standardization
of regional structures, and promoting accountability at all
levels. He said that the department is very good at spending
money, but telling people exactly what they do has been elusive.
He further explained that the department's 2011 priorities are
substance abuse and mental health services. These affect all
Alaskans, and are contributing factors to problems ranging from
unemployment to domestic violence to suicide. The department is
constantly refining the way it addresses these issues; with
limited resources it is a difficult challenge to target areas
such as underage drinking, binge drinking, suicide, domestic
violence and sexual assault, but early intervention can work to
integrate behavioral health with primary care.
1:37:50 PM
COMMISSIONER STREUR stressed there is a need for universal
screening for behavioral health issues in primary care settings.
In the Juneau School District, he said, 23-40 percent of high
school students had major depression or suicidal thoughts. The
department's goals are expanding family-based treatment,
increasing access to substance abuse services, adding
involuntary treatment and secure detox services, ensuring
adequate response to behavioral health emergencies, and
increasing use of telemedicine.
In terms of recovery, he noted, the department supports an array
of recovery services, using performance-based standards and
funding; the department aims to have behavioral health
regulations in place this summer that reflect the philosophy of
integration between mental health and substance abuse.
COMMISSIONER STRUER also said that chronic disease has a
staggering impact on Alaska, and most of this is related to
personal choice around diet, smoking, and exercise. Roughly 35%
of children in Alaska and 66% of adults are overweight or obese;
direct medical costs related to being overweight cost Alaska
$477 million per year, and now surpass those related to tobacco
use. He stated that major health and wellness strategies include
prevention and health promotion, disease control, and access to
insure that all possible resources are available in Alaska's
communities.
COMMISSIONER STREUR continued summarizing a number of the
department's priorities, as follows:
Prevention and Health Promotion: Implement evidence-based,
population-based health promotion efforts to reduce obesity,
chronic disease, and injuries. Increase primary prevention
approaches, including those targeting increased self-
responsibility. Educate about and improve methods for screening,
diagnosis, and early treatment of conditions and behaviors most
detrimental to the physical and mental health of Alaskans.
Disease Control: Detect epidemics and control the spread of
infectious diseases, in particular influenza, tuberculosis,
hepatitis C, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, through
screening, testing, diagnosis and treatment. Immunize children
and adults against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Access: Use public health nurses to ensure all possible
resources are made available in Alaskan communities. Expand
medical examiner services statewide. Increase community
partnerships to improve local capacity for primary care and
preventive health services.
Emergency Response and Preparedness: Build capacity in Alaska's
statewide trauma system. Work with communities to prevent health
emergencies and prepare for pandemics and natural disasters.
Environmental Health Impacts: Provide medical, toxicological,
and public health expertise to individuals and communities to
enable them to reduce hazards from environmental exposures.
Develop credible, science-based, Alaska-specific information
about environmental exposure levels and potential impact to
human health.
1:42:11 PM
Workforce: Partner with the University of Alaska and others to
create new training opportunities for health professionals
throughout the state. Create professional residency programs for
"hard to attract" health care fields such as psychiatry. Develop
alternative approaches to health care delivery in rural Alaska.
In terms of long-term care, Commissioner Streur made the
following comments:
Medicaid is the primary payer for long-term care services for
the elderly and disabled. In Alaska, those services are
delivered in a fragmented fee-for-service environment. Alaska
has been very successful in making services available in homes
and communities, thereby delaying or avoiding the higher cost
and more restrictive institutional care for many individuals.
Challenges remain, however, in the availability of home and
community-based services in rural areas; long-term institutional
care for those individuals with very high needs that cannot be
met in the community; standardization of the quality of care
delivered; and comprehensive oversight of the health and welfare
of these participants.
Major strategies include:
Identification and Coordination of Health and Welfare Needs:
Implement quality assurance strategies that set forth standards
of performance for home and community-based care providers and
remediation responses for failure to meet those standards.
Integrate automated solutions that provide for real-time care
plan development and amendment to meet change in condition of
the participant and to conduct risk assessments.
Align cross-division efforts to manage provider enrollment,
certification, and compliance and performance oversight.
Train and oversee the performance of care coordinators who have
the role of continuous monitoring of health and welfare needs of
waiver program participants.
Integrate recipient feedback on analysis of the efficacy of home
and community based programs.
Develop integrated pro-active and reactive programs of safety
related to complaints and reports of harm received by Adult
Protective Services, Long Term Care Ombudsman, Licensing and
Certification and Senior and Disabilities Services.
Increase utilization of Aging and Disability Resource Centers as
referral sources to meet the needs of those receiving services
in their home and community settings.
Promote a service array that meets the needs of the underserved
who require long term care services
Collaborate with providers to develop sustainable options for
institutional care that meets the needs of those very complex
individuals whose needs may not be safely met in the community
setting;
Improved coordination of services to individuals utilizing the
general relief program to promote greater self-responsibility
and self-reliance where appropriate;
Provide continued support to individuals who do not qualify for
waiver services but need supports through continued grant
opportunities;
Create sustainable solutions through partnerships with the
Pioneer Homes, Senior and Disabilities Services, Medicaid and
Behavioral Health to address the needs of individuals with long-
term needs related to complex behavioral issues and cognitive
deficits such as Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
Develop Integrated and Comprehensive Model of Care
Evaluate opportunities provided by the federal government to
manage the benefits of dually eligible individuals.
1:44:52 PM
COMMISSIONER STREUR emphasized that family centered services are
the key to meeting the needs of our most vulnerable citizens;
developmentally disabled children and adults should have access
to quality services, as well as financial and vocational
supports that they need to maximize their contributions to
society.
He noted that strategies include the following:
Protective Services: Provide effective and timely protective
services to vulnerable children and adults experiencing, or at
risk for, neglect, abuse and exploitation in an environment
where more timely and effective reporting by providers and
community members is occurring. Forge relationships with
community partners to develop proactive measures to reduce and
eliminate risks to the health and welfare of vulnerable children
and adults.
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault: Strengthen behavioral
health programs to address family violence prevention and to
provide treatment for alcohol and substance abuse, often an
underlying cause of DVSA.
Suicide Prevention: Target suicide prevention efforts to
individuals and communities most in need.
Bring the Kids Home Initiative: Continue efforts to develop the
infrastructure within the state to support the needs of children
who have previously been sent out of state to receive services
and to keep youth in state.
Families First Initiative: Expand this project which is designed
to help families leave the public assistance rolls and find
employment through coordination of services between state
agencies to assure that services are designed to meet family
needs vs. individual program requirements.
1:48:13 PM
COMMISSIONER STREUR explained that the DHSS has over 3,690
employees working in eight divisions; those are, the Alaska
Pioneer Homes, Behavioral Health Services, Children's Services,
Juvenile Justice, Public Assistance, Health Care Services,
Senior Disability Services, and Financial Management Services.
He then turned the floor over to Allison Elgee for a budget
overview.
1:49:25 PM
ALLISON ELGEE, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Finance and
Management, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS),
noted that the information in the Budget Overview Book is also
available on the department's web site. She said the Fiscal Year
2011 Operating Grants book provides detailed information on over
$160 million worth of grant funding that department oversees on
annual basis.
MS. ELGEE stated that she would go through the budget, division-
by-division. By far and away the largest portion of the DHSS
budget is made up of Medicaid services. She then spoke about the
Alaska Pioneer Homes; this division employs 557 full-time and 43
part-time staff in 6 homes throughout state. There are 508
licensed beds, and these are 24-hour, seven days per week
facilities, with staff working in three shifts each day. She
explained the Pioneer Homes are licensed as assisted living
facilities, although many residents do meet the nursing home
level of need. Residents must be at least 65 and residing in
Alaska for one year prior to seeking admission. There are two
waiting lists, one inactive, and one active. Inactive status
simply means that people have signed up for some point in the
future; active means that people are interested in residency and
have to make a decision within 30 days once notified. Fees for
the homes range from $2,350/month to $6170/month, depending on
the level of care needed.
1:54:41 PM
MS. ELGEE further stated the pioneer homes are eligible for
Medicaid payment waivered rates, as well as payment assistance;
no one is asked about financial resources as part of the
admission process. She said the biggest problem in running the
Pioneer Homes is the increase in acuity; in 1995, 63 percent of
residents sought the highest level of care. Today that is 88
percent, and the average age of residents is over 85 years. The
second issue, she said, is lack of available placements for
individuals exhibiting difficult behaviors. People with dementia
can end up being assaultive and become a danger to themselves or
others, and the Pioneer Homes are not funded to staff one-on-
one, which is needed for that type of behavior. No alternative
placements are currently available.
1:57:32 PM
MS. ELGEE then discussed the Division of Behavioral Health,
which currently employs 334 full-time people and 11 part-time,
the majority of whom work at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute
(API). She said that API has 240 full-time and nine part-time
employees. With the exception of API and the Alcohol Safety
Action Program (ASAP), most of the division's work is in the
management and oversight of grant programs which are distributed
throughout the state to numerous nonprofit and community
partners, who deliver a variety of behavioral health services
1:58:55 PM
SENATOR ELLIS asked if the commissioner was aware that less than
half of the money collected in the state alcohol tax goes back
to cost-effective, evidence-based treatment programs. He said he
has a goal to see more of that alcohol tax money used for
treatment. He also asked how long it takes for grant monies to
get onto the street once appropriated. He further noted that the
number of treatment programs in the state is wholly inadequate,
and reemphasized that it seems to take a long time to get grant
money onto the street, and said that getting into treatment is
literally a life or death situation for some people.
2:00:25 PM
COMMISSIONER STREUR replied that he had no argument with either
of those two points, but noted the alcohol tax also has to pay
for alcohol-related costs of criminal justice, safety, and
health care, beyond alcohol and drug treatment centers. He noted
the department is moving toward a goal of prevention and early
intervention.
2:01:26 PM
MS. ELGEE agreed that Senator Ellis was correct; receiving new
money from grants can be a struggle, because the department is
obligated by statute to competitively solicit for grants. They
do two or three year grant cycles, and they try to utilize
existing grantees during the first year. For a brand new
concept, there has to be a competitive solicitation.
SENATOR ELLIS asked if she was positive that only new money
takes a long time to get out.
2:03:56 PM
MS. ELGEE said she would look into specific program areas if he
could provide them, but the department has worked on speeding up
payments to grantees; they now provide 90 percent of their grant
dollars for small grantees in July, and start soliciting in
December.
2:04:54 PM
MS. ELGEE noted the Division of Behavioral Health has worked
hard to incorporate performance standards into its review
process, making grant award decisions based on the performance
of grantees. She said the biggest issue in terms of delivering
behavior health services is geography; small populations makes
providing resources at the community level difficult if not
impossible, which can result in inappropriate referrals to API.
2:06:35 PM
MS. ELGEE then spoke about the office of Children's Services,
and introduced Christy Lawton, who has been the acting director
since August. Ms. Elgee said the Office of Children's Services
has 499 full-time employees, and is organized around five
regions which include the newly organized region of western
Alaska. They also have 26 field offices; the primary operation
of the division is child protection services, meaning they
respond to reports of harm and do whatever is necessary to
assure the safety of the child. The division also manages the
infant learning grant program, which provides early childhood
services for children with developmental delays. Ms. Elgee noted
the biggest issue in the division is workforce recruitment and
retention. Children's Services is a very high stress
environment, and a study in 2009 found that over 60 percent of
division employees had held their current positions for less
than two years.
2:09:44 PM
SENATOR DYSON asked if the division conducted exit interviews.
MS. ELGEE replied that they do, and that they are trying to
strengthen the supervisory staff.
SENATOR DYSON then asked if we doubled the money, would it
greatly reduce the amount of turn over.
MS. ELGEE said she doubted if we could spend the money, because
there is a shortage of qualified applicants in the field;
reducing caseloads would be positive, but the turnover is not
all about money.
SENATOR DYSON said he would enjoy further conversation with Ms.
Elgee on this subject.
CHAIR DAVIS asked why the director position has been vacant
since August.
MS. ELGEE responded it is difficult to recruit during an
election year, and they were holding off until the outcome of
the election was known.
2:12:42 PM
MS. ELGEE said she would move on to the Division of Health Care
Services. This division is the primary management structure for
Medicare services programs, and has 134 staff; the division
manages the acute medical care components, hospital services,
and the Denali kid care program. Health Care Services also
manages the contract for the third-party payment environment.
She explained the division also provides the rate review process
for all Medicaid rate settings. The biggest challenge is trying
to maintain a balance between the rates paid and providers
willing to serve the Medicaid program. When services are not
available in rural Alaska for a Medicaid client, the division
also pays for transportation services. She said they try to have
services available at the local level, except for specialized
services. The division is working with tribal partners to
develop a strong tribal health system. They are also working to
bring up a health records exchange environment, and get their
providers converted to electronic health records.
2:16:43 PM
MS. ELGEE asked if she should briefly cover the other divisions,
since many members may have heard them in other committees.
CHAIR DAVIS asked which she would prefer.
MS. ELGEE said she would do a quick review of those divisions
that many people may have already heard. She briefly reviewed
the Division of Juvenile Justice, which has 479 full-time staff;
the division operates eight youth detention facilities and 16
juvenile probation offices throughout the state. The facilities
operate in a 24-hour environment, and employees work in several
shifts. She noted that McLaughlin specializes in services not
offered elsewhere in the state.
2:18:58 PM
MS. ELGEE said the Division of Public Assistance has 535 staff,
and operates through 15 field offices throughout state. This
division serves over 174,000 people per year; programs offered
include temporary assistance to families in need, food stamps,
heating assistance, senior benefits, adult public assistance,
and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. The division
also does all of the eligibility determinations for Medicaid.
She noted they struggle to meet increased caseloads with a
static level of staff.
2:20:32 PM
MS. ELGEE then spoke about the Division of Public Health. This
division has 507 full-time and 11 part-time employees, and its
operations include public health nursing, vital statistics
record keeping, two public health labs, infectious disease and
epidemic prevention and control, certification and licensing for
health care facilities and background checks for health service
providers. They also manage the medical examiner's office and
oversee the grant program for emergency medical services. She
said that challenges faced by this division include the fight
against chronic disease, including many lifestyle choices;
improving childhood immunization rates. Ms. Elgee explained that
the Alaska immunization rate for two year olds in 2009 was
ranked 49th among all 50 states, due in part to a shortage of
health care work force. The division is working to improve
statewide coverage for public health.
2:23:30 PM
MS. ELGEE then reviewed the Division of Senior and Disability
services. She said this division has 138-full time staff, and
the division conducts Medicaid waiver programs for children with
complex medical conditions, adults with physical disabilities,
older Alaskans, and developmental disabilities. These programs
are designed to provide alternate approaches to long-term care;
individuals eligible for these programs meet criteria that allow
them admission to nursing homes where home or community service
is not available. The division also manages grant programs for
senior and developmentally disabled adults throughout the state,
as well as nutrition, transportation and support services
throughout the state. In this division also includes the Alaska
Commission on Aging and the Governor's Council on Special
Education and Developmental Disabilities.
2:25:42 PM
MS. ELGEE then spoke about the department support services
program, which includes all administrative support functions,
the commissioner's office, public information services, finance
and management services, and the human service matching grant
program.
2:26:21 PM
SENATOR DYSON asked how many providers the department pays.
COMMISSIONER STREUR responded there are a total of about 3,600
providers in the state of Alaska.
SENATOR DYSON asked about the issue of Medicare fraud.
COMMISSIONER STREUR responded that many federal efforts are
being undertaken around fraud, waste and abuse. He also met
recently with the state attorney general, and they are looking
at consolidating efforts in the state, as well as trying to
figure out how to work with the federal programs that are coming
in. These include the Medicaid Integrity Program, federal
audits, and efforts around provider fraud and recipient fraud.
SENATOR DYSON noted that on a national level provider fraud is a
huge problem.
COMMISSIONER STREUR said he doesn't know exact percentages, but
hopefully Alaska is not as bad as some other states; Florida and
New York have Medicare fraud in the billions of dollars.
SENATOR DYSON then asked about the percentage of costs related
to behavioral problems, or self-induced medical issues?
COMMMISSIONER STREUR responded that $600 million is the direct
medical cost related to self-inflicted health care issues in our
state.
SENATOR DYSON asked if it is true that are we paying nine or ten
million for obesity related problems among state employees.
2:31:03 PM
COMMISSIONER STREUR said he was unable to answer that question.
SENATOR DYSON asked if the pharmacy board was months away from
having the drug registration finished.
COMMISSIONER STREUR responded it was a slow moving process.
SENATOR DYSON asked if he had an anticipated date.
COMMISSIONER STREUR responded that it was being done through the
Department of Commerce.
2:31:52 PM
SENATOR MEYER asked about funds for parents who adopt foster
children, or have children with high behavioral issues.
MS. ELGEE said he might be speaking about the subsidized
adoption and guardianship programs.
SENATOR MEYER stated he was talking about TAMA.
MS. ELGEE replied that was the temporary assistance for needy
families program.
SENATOR DYSON noted that Alaska is in the top ten nationally as
far as youth not using tobacco, and he was proud of that fact.
He noted that the department had protected tobacco settlement
funds.
MS. ELGEE confirmed that there are no new purposes for which
that money is being used; education and cessation are the only
purposes.
2:34:07 PM
SENATOR ELLIS asked why the gubernatorial election would have
affected the timetable for appointing a permanent Director of
Children's Services.
COMMISSIONER STREUR responded that division directors are
gubernatorial appointees; therefore, no applicant would accept
the position until they knew who would be the governor.
^Presentation: Alaska Health Care Commission
Alaska Health Care Commission Presentation
2:35:36 PM
CHAIR DAVIS announced the next presentation would be a report on
The Alaska Health Care Commission.
2:36:23 PM
DEBORAH ERICKSON, Director, Alaska Health Care Commission,
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), said she would
start with a brief history of health care reform efforts in
Alaska. Past organizations included the Governor's Interim
Health Care Commission, the Health Resources and Access Task
Force, the Commonwealth North Alaska Health Care Roundtable, and
the Alaska Health Strategies Planning Council. She said the
creation of the Alaska Health Care commission was the first
attempt to provide a long-term, sustainable look at health care
access and cost issues. Ms. Erickson noted that the Health
Resources and Access Task Force, created by the legislature in
1991, projected that expenditures for health care in the state
would exceed $5.5 billion by 2003. In the most recent report,
from 2005, the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER)
estimated that annual health care spending was about $5.5
billion.
2:38:21 PM
So, she noted, those projections are panning out. Ms. Erickson
said that policy choices will need to be made at the state,
local, and even family level. The current state fiscal year
operating budget contains $1.4 billion for Medicaid costs,
alone, while the operating budget for the entire Department of
Education is only $1.4 billion. Ms. Erickson further noted that
the Health Care Commission was originally created by Governor
Palin under an administrative order, and was established in
statute through SB 172 in April of 2010.
2:43:25 PM
MS. ERICKSON explained the purpose of the commission is to
establish a state-wide plan to address quality, accessibility,
and availability of health care for all citizens of the state.
The main duties are to develop a strategy for improving the
health of all Alaskans, and to provide an annual report to the
legislature and the governor by January 15 of each year. She
said the commission now has 11 voting members and three ex-
officio members. The commission's 2010 report builds and picks
up where the 2009 commission left off. The commission has
designed a five-year process to develop a vision for the ideal
health care system in Alaska; the process will describe the
current state of health care, build a foundation for a strong
health care system, design transformative policies, measure
progress, and report annually to the legislature and the
governor. She said the commission has reaffirmed that Alaska's
health care system will focus on improving health status,
delivering value, and developing a system where both providers
and consumers will be satisfied with the services. Developing a
sustainable system is also a significant concern of the
commission, she said.
2:46:47 PM
MS. ERICKSON explained the commission must report on its
recommendations, and must provide indicators of how the system
is performing. The commission's vision is a system that includes
increased access, controlled costs, improved quality,
prevention-based, sustainability, efficiency, and effectiveness.
She said they will focus on the importance of individual choice
and personal engagement in health care. The commission's fist
report in 2009 included an appendix describing how health care
services in the state are organized and delivered, as well as
the different financing streams. In 2010 the commission decided
to provide an overview of the new federal health care reform
law; the 2010 report includes a brief summary of that law, as
well as information on what has happened during 2010 regarding
implementation of various provisions by the federal government.
2:51:21 PM
MS. ERICKSON noted the commission has contracted with ISER to do
a new analysis of health care spending in the state, and has a
contract with a health care actuarial firm to provide
comprehensive review and analysis of reimbursement for health
care services in the state, with a bit more focus on what the
cost drivers are. The commission is trying to learn why prices
for health care are higher than other states; they are looking
to compare Alaska to Wyoming and North Dakota. Understanding
costs also requires information about the health of Alaskans, so
the commission will be making a health status estimate with the
help of DHSS.
2:53:10 PM
MS. ELGEE said the 2009 commission report defined challenges,
including the high, rising, and unsustainable cost of care,
inadequate insurance coverage, the logistical challenges of
delivering care, loss of economies of scale, system
fragmentation and duplication, work force shortages, health
status and health risk behaviors, and health information
technology development. One specific problem studied was the
problem of access to primary care for Medicare beneficiaries,
especially in Anchorage
2:54:56 PM
MS. ERICKSON then explained the commission is focusing on
transforming health care in Alaska; their focus emphasizes the
importance of consumer responsibility to live healthier
lifestyles, and looking at what communities can do to support
healthy lifestyle choices. She said they are also looking at how
to make care more patient-centered, so that individuals have
more of a role in decision making and take more responsibility
for their health. So the commission's policies are organized
around the goals of access, value, prevention, improving
patients' experience of health care, and supporting individuals
to live healthier lifestyles.
MS. ERICKSON said there are three building blocks which the
commission has identified as the foundation for a transformed
system; ways to strengthen the health care work force, improve
deployment of health information technology, and provide strong
leadership. In terms of improving value, strategies include
evidence-based medicine, price and quality transparency, value-
driven purchasing, increasing insurance coverage, improving
financial access, and improving access to information.
2:59:44 PM
SENATOR ELLIS asked why medical procedures are more expensive
here in Alaska.
MS. ERICKSON replied that Linda Hall, Director of Insurance, is
refusing to use federal money available to find the answer to
this question, because the governor doesn't want to participate
in federal health care reform.
SENATOR ELLIS then asked if the federal money was available to
the Alaska Health Care Commission.
MS. ERICKSON said that the governor has to sign the application
to accept those funds, and there are questions about exactly how
those resources might be used; the commission is also interested
in health care pricing and reimbursement, and is developing a
contract for a health actuarial firm to do that analysis.
SENATOR ELLIS said having that information would be very
helpful.
3:02:58 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Davis adjourned the meeting of the Senate Health and
Social Services Committee at 3:02 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| DHSS Priorities 2011.pdf |
SHSS 2/7/2011 1:30:00 PM |
|
| Health & Social Services Overview.pptx |
SHSS 2/7/2011 1:30:00 PM |
|
| Alaska Health Care Commission's Report 2011.pdf |
SHSS 2/7/2011 1:30:00 PM |