Alaska Legislature Passes Bill Requiring Home Care Agencies to Fund Workers

The Alaska Legislature passed House Bill 96 on May 18, 2026. The bill requires agencies that provide personal care to allocate a certain percentage of funding to Personal Care Assistants. The Senate approved the measure 19 to 1.

Representative Mike Prax sponsored the legislation. Senator Robert Yundt carried it in the Senate. The bill creates a Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board and expands access to affordable home and community-based care. It will now be transmitted to Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

Home care costs less than institutional care. That gives Alaska a fiscal reason to expand home and community-based services instead of relying only on nursing facilities or pioneer homes. Workforce shortages in home care persist because low wages make recruitment and retention difficult for personal care attendants and similar direct-care jobs. The Alaska Legislature has used bill referrals and committee hearings to advance home care workforce policy changes, including proposals to direct more funding toward direct-care worker wages.

Prax said the legislation saves taxpayer dollars by, in his words, "getting the best bang for our buck." In-home care through personal care services costs roughly a third as much as care provided in pioneer homes or nursing facilities, he said. By increasing pay for these workers, the state can attract more people into this field, expand access to in-home care, and reduce demand on higher-cost state-supported facilities, he said.

Yundt, a member of the Labor and Commerce Committee, said supporting seniors has been a top priority during his six years as an elected official. Alaska's seniors have dedicated their lives to building their families, communities, and the state, he said. He said he is proud to support legislation that allows parents and grandparents to live their later years with peace and dignity.

Seniors are the fastest growing demographic in Alaska, with an expected 500 percent increase by 2050. According to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, care services will be one of the fastest growing occupations in the state.

The advisory board created by the bill will develop policy recommendations for senior care improvement. Prax and Yundt said they look forward to working with the Executive Branch to ensure Alaska's seniors live this chapter of life with care and respect.