JUNEAU -- A report commissioned by the Legislature has warned the state that the health care costs for Alaska’s neediest populations will continue to rise significantly during the next 10 years unless reforms are adopted to the Medicaid system.
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The report proposes taking advantage of federal waiver programs, which would allow Alaska to use create need-specific program guidelines when using federal funds.
One of the report’s key focus areas was on reforming the tribal health care system to allow the delivery of all Medicaid-eligible services.
In the past 10 years, the cost of Alaska’s Medicaid program has risen from $362 million to an estimated $1.2 billion this year. Although the federal government funds most of the cost, the state’s portion of that bill jumped from $126 million to an estimated $388 million, according to state health officials.
Daily News reporter Sabra Ayres can be reached at sayres@adn.com and 907-586-1531.
A longer version of this article will appear Wednesday on adn.com and in the Anchorage Daily News.