Anchorage Assembly approves $3 million rural health grant for crisis care

The Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday approved $3,015,900 from the Alaska Department of Health for the Anchorage Health Department. The money is meant to link city health, police and fire records and launch pilots on opioid treatment, mobile health response and supportive housing. The resolution, submitted by Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, passed unanimously on the consent agenda.

The money comes from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program. The state's award notice says the project would connect Anchorage's crisis care and safety net system to rural health care, aiming to improve outcomes "especially for rural and Tribal enrollees seeking care in Anchorage" and identify possible new Medicaid waiver services.

The grant runs from execution through June 30, 2027, and depends on a fully executed agreement with the state, which would reimburse the city's spending monthly.

The health department would manage the grant, with projects also under the Anchorage Police and Fire departments and the Information Technology Department. Under the plan, clinical teams at health, police and fire would share interoperable health records, and an implementation lead position would manage the police department's project work.

Pilots would fully implement Mobile Integrated Health services to reduce EMS use, and Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. Others would pair communicable disease testing and treatment with behavioral health care and supportive housing, add behavioral health support for WIC clients, and increase assisted living and other supportive housing for people with complex needs. An evaluation would measure results.

The budget sets $292,400 for labor, $2,623,500 for professional services and $100,000 for supplies.

Health Department Director Kimberly Rash told the Assembly Housing and Homelessness Committee in September 2025 that the city had answered a state information request. "So we put in a proposal that does focus on our crisis response system, but also focuses on information sharing and increasing our connectivity with rural regions," Rash said. Alaska's first-year share of the program is $272 million.