Medicaid is critical to Alaska’s Community Health system
“Community Health Centers continuously seek to maximize coverage that expands their patients’ access to health care services. Medicaid is integral to the Community Health system, ensuring their ability to be sustainable and nimble in addressing Alaska’s local communities’ needs.”
— Jon Zasada, Policy Integration Director for Alaska Primary Care Association
Meaningful Coverage
For many Alaskans, Medicaid is their only option to obtaining health care coverage.
Federal and state financing of Medicaid-covered services should be sufficient to ensure that Medicaid enrollees have timely access to high quality, necessary care.
Proposals should balance state flexibility and innovation with necessary federal standards to protect patients.
Recognizing the counter-cyclical nature of the program, any reforms should strengthen the ability of Medicaid to provide coverage during an economic slowdown.
Sustainable Financing
Medicaid reform should seek programmatic improvements, not solely short-term fiscal objectives.
Medicaid reform must avoid shifting costs onto local governments, providers, and beneficiaries.
Quality and Innovation
Medicaid reform should support the provision of integrated, seamless, patient-centered care, promote the continued innovation of health care delivery, and consider both public and private sector solutions while protecting essential benefits.
Payment and delivery system innovations that require substantial investment in new technologies and resources should take into consideration the costs of implementing these changes, and should be supported with appropriate federal investment.
Medicaid reform proposals should include efforts to develop a comprehensive quality measurement and reporting program to create a consistent, standardized method of reporting, measuring, and promoting improvement in the quality of care for our nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
Effective Administration
Changes to the program should improve and simplify administrative functions and ensure transparency and stakeholder engagement in the process.
Any program to pay providers based on quality of care or efficiency should be developed collaboratively, involve all stakeholders, recognize differences across individual providers and the beneficiaries they serve, and ensure adequate transition planning and implementation time.
Changes to the program should include adequate safeguards to ensure program integrity.