In 2020, Alaska temporarily allowed some health care practitioners with out-of-state licenses to provide telehealth services to Alaskans in response to the COVID-19 crisis. In 2022, policymakers passed legislation making some of the temporary allowancesRead More
Policy Brief: Protect the Direct Health Care Model
Click here to access the PDF version of the policy brief. Policy Brief: Protect the Direct Health Care Model Tackling Alaska’s high healthcare costs requires a multifaceted approach, and one policy reform that willRead More
Whose “Needs” Do Certificate of Need Laws Serve?
By Aubrey Wursten Introduction Alaska is one of 35 states still subject to health care certificate of need (CON) laws. These regulations require that certain proposed health care facilities or expansions receive permissionRead More
Revisiting an Important Report: Controlling Alaska’s Health Care Costs
In 2020, Alaska Policy Forum published a report titled “Controlling Health Care Costs in Alaska,” authored by Dr. Benedic Ippolito. The extensive report examined factors impacting Alaska’s high health care costs and suggestedRead More
How Direct Primary Care Could Help Curtail Alaska’s High Health Care Spending
By Aubrey Wursten Alaska consistently suffers from the highest health care spending per capita of any state. Multiple factors contribute to this problem, but easing Alaska’s restrictions on direct primary care (DPC), orRead More
How to Combat Alaska’s Soaring Health Care Spending
By Aubrey Wursten In a conclusion that has become predictable, a recent study by peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs found that when compared to all states, Alaska once again had the highest health spendingRead More