State public health agency covering Medicaid, epidemiology, behavioral health, senior services, and emergency medical services for rural and urban Alaska.
Juneau, AK, USA
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Betsy Wood
“we'll work with CMS to complete any federal review that may be required under the cooperative agreement, and then DOH and ACF will work together to finalize and execute the award agreements with those implementation awards expected to begin in, in August of this year.”Alaska Dept. of Health: RHTP Advisory Council (July 1, 2026) · Jul 1, 2026
Alison Miller
“following that individual project-level evaluation, the department leadership will complete a portfolio-level review, which is where we're sort of checking for that, that broader, more sort of puzzle aspect to the applications, making sure that all of the projects fit together, that there is even distribution across the state, that we're meeting the biggest needs and serving all populations as much as we can.”Alaska Dept. of Health: RHTP Advisory Council (July 1, 2026) · Jul 1, 2026
Alison Miller
“that will be completed by DC REACHI and Commissioner Hedberg, with Commissioner Hedberg making all of the final decisions.”Alaska Dept. of Health: RHTP Advisory Council (July 1, 2026) · Jul 1, 2026
Betsy Wood
“over the next several weeks, these applications will move through administrative review, project evaluation, and portfolio review, and we'll cover each of these components in a little more detail a little bit later on in the presentation, but those are the stages that the applications will walk through before the final funding recommendations are developed. We're anticipating that that review and evaluation process, you know, we've, we've been in the thick of it since the application period closed.”Alaska Dept. of Health: RHTP Advisory Council (July 1, 2026) · Jul 1, 2026
Betsy Wood
“We received a number of proposals focused on maternal and early childhood health, as well as tribal-led models that integrate tribal healing and culturally grounded approaches to care. While each proposal addresses local needs, again, the portfolio as a whole advances the broader vision that the state has collectively built for a more accessible, sustainable, and connected rural health system.”Alaska Dept. of Health: RHTP Advisory Council (July 1, 2026) · Jul 1, 2026
Betsy Wood
“I would anticipate that those, those subawards would, would be executed in August depending on, you know, what degree of question or back and forth or refinement we need to have. So just want to share that. But we, you know, anticipate that the implementation awards will begin again later this summer. And for the first performance period, organizations should plan to complete their project activities and expend their awarded funds by June 30th, 2027.”Alaska Dept. of Health: RHTP Advisory Council (July 1, 2026) · Jul 1, 2026
In Anchorage, SNAP recipients now face work requirements
Alaska's federal SNAP waiver runs through Oct. 31, 2026 and lifts the three-month time limit for able-bodied adults without dependents everywhere but Anchorage. General work requirements still apply statewide, and Anchorage recipients need another exemption to avoid the limit.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
New Alaska Medicaid work rules start in January 2027 — with broad exemptions
Some Alaska Medicaid recipients ages 19 to 64 must log 80 hours a month of work, school, training, or volunteering starting in January 2027. State guidance lists broad exemptions, including Alaska Native and American Indian enrollees, and tells recipients to update their contact information now.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Rural health transformation program set as keynote topic at Anchorage disability employment conference
The Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education says the Oct. 12-13 Employment First Conference at Anchorage's Dena'ina Center will feature a keynote on the Rural Health Transformation Program, Alaska's $272 million federal rural health award.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A state grant would keep TB screening running at Anchorage homeless shelters
A $2.77 million state grant up for reading before the Anchorage Assembly on Sept. 1 pays for tuberculosis screening at homeless shelters and transitional living centers, and for emergency housing to isolate people with contagious airborne disease.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
The Presidential Fitness Test is coming back to Alaska schools, with $1.15 million behind it
Alaska's education and health departments will rebuild student fitness assessments in 505 public schools, with testing targeted for the 2027-28 school year and funding drawn from the state's $272 million federal Rural Health Transformation Program.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage set to get $3 million to expand its crisis-response system
Anchorage won a $3 million Rural Health Transformation Program grant from the Alaska Department of Health, the first year of a proposed $7 million, three-year plan to expand mobile crisis teams, mobile opioid treatment and short-term assisted living beds.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min read
State disability council offers free online advocacy training Sept. 1-2
The Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education holds a free virtual advocacy training Sept. 1-2, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., covering disability history, voting rights and legislative advocacy for self-advocates, families, guardians and professional staff statewide.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska Native youth die by suicide at five times the rate of White youth
A state epidemiology bulletin released Monday reports Alaska Native youth aged 10 to 18 died by suicide at 47 per 100,000, against 9 per 100,000 for White youth, and the Department of Health is calling for culturally responsive, community-informed prevention.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Volunteers will build naloxone kits in Anchorage on Overdose Awareness Day
Volunteers will assemble naloxone kits for statewide distribution Monday, Aug. 31, at the Fairview Recreation Center in Anchorage. The Alaska Department of Health cites preliminary state figures showing 238 Alaskans died of opioid overdoses in 2025.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Dunleavy names a fentanyl awareness day; Alaska recorded 339 overdose deaths last year
Gov. Mike Dunleavy proclaimed Aug. 21 Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. Alaska recorded 339 overdose deaths in 2024, with fentanyl involved in about 73 percent.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska plans nearly $126 million for rural health projects, its biggest round yet
Alaska plans to award nearly $126 million to 105 rural health projects, its largest round yet under the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, bringing year-one totals past $160 million.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Most of Alaska's 2030 health goals are off track, new assessment finds
The Alaska Department of Health and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium released a revised Healthy Alaskans 2030 State Health Assessment on Friday, updating a 2019 baseline and setting up a 2026 revision of the state health improvement plan.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Only 1 in 10 pregnant Alaskans who needed substance-use treatment in 2022 got it
A Department of Health notice posted Tuesday details a $3 million perinatal substance use grant, and the figures behind it: only 10% of the 937 pregnant Alaskans who needed treatment in 2022 received it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
In five remote Chugach villages, health aides work without an X-ray, and new funding aims to change that
Chugachmiut issued three separate requests for proposals Monday covering mobile digital X-ray at five Chugach Region clinics, dental scanning and 3D printing at four, and a CBCT dental imaging system in Seward. Proposals are due September 17.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Alaska takes input on extra child-care help for kids with disabilities
The Alaska Child Care Program Office holds the sixth session of its 2026 engagement series Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m., taking input from families, providers and advocates on Alaska IN! eligibility, reporting and accommodation rules under 7 AAC 41.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska issues intent to award $30 million to 37 rural health projects
The Alaska Department of Health issued notices to award more than $30 million to 37 rural health projects, a second round of a federal program, led by $5 million to Norton Sound.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Most of Alaska's $272M rural health award remains unawarded
Alaska won a $272.2 million first-year federal health award, but only about 13% is awarded as 200-plus applicants wait — and unspent funds can be recaptured by other states.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
State testing finds little or no PFAS in Alaska marine fish, with one exception for pollock
A state epidemiology bulletin published Wednesday reports that 610 fish and shellfish specimens collected from 2022 to 2024 showed measurable PFAS in only five samples, all below European Union and Japanese food thresholds. The EPA has set no fish-specific PFAS guidance.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska's Medicaid home-care waivers renewed, but a waitlist persists
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved renewal of Alaska's ALI, APDD, CCMC and IDD waivers for a five-year cycle running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031, keeping home and community care in place for participants who would otherwise qualify for institutional care.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska takes public input Wednesday on child care facility safety rules
The Alaska Child Care Program Office holds its fifth 2026 engagement session from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday, taking input from providers, families and advocates on licensed child care facility health and safety requirements under 7 AAC 10.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska makes its first awards under a $272 million rural health program
The Alaska Department of Health on Friday announced notices of intent to award more than $4.5 million to 19 projects under the state's $272 million first-year federal Rural Health Transformation award. More notices will follow each Friday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska moves to open child care assistance to more working families
The Alaska Department of Health has proposed raising the income ceiling for child care assistance from 85 percent to 105 percent of state median income and creating a new PASS V category for families in that band. Written comments are due Sept. 14.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage weighs $1 million for nonprofits feeding and sheltering vulnerable residents
The Anchorage Assembly weighs just over $1 million for nonprofits providing food, emergency shelter, and health and housing support to vulnerable residents, with a vote Aug. 4.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska adopts a behavioral health clinic model that can't turn crises away
Alaska joined a federal demonstration of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, which must provide 24/7 crisis care to anyone regardless of ability to pay. Two clinics are certified so far.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Medicaid narrows where trainee therapists can bill
Updated state behavioral health guidance issued Monday says unlicensed master's-level clinicians may affiliate only with qualifying community behavioral health clinics under Alaska Medicaid, a restriction absent from the June 2 version.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska corrects fiscal year 2027 waiver rate chart as 3.2% Medicaid increase takes effect
The Alaska Division of Senior and Disabilities Services reissued its fiscal year 2027 rate alert to fix an error in the waiver service rate chart, while confirming a 3.2% inflation increase to Medicaid home and community-based services effective July 1, 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Cyclospora cases nationally up sixfold; Alaska Department of Health urges produce washing
The CDC confirmed 1,645 domestically acquired cyclosporiasis cases across 34 states since May 1, 2026, roughly six times the 249 cases reported by the same date last year, with a separate cluster of more than 400 cases still under investigation and no food source confirmed. Alaska has five cases this year, consistent with its typical annual count.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska's worst-ever syphilis outbreak is now reaching newborns
Alaska recorded 503 syphilis cases in 2025, a record, along with 14 cases of congenital syphilis in newborns — the worst outbreak in state history, hitting Alaska Native communities hardest.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska child vaccination rate at 55%, well below national average
New Alaska data shows 55% of toddlers have completed the recommended vaccine series and 77% of kindergartners have MMR coverage, below national averages and the herd-immunity threshold.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska nudges up what it pays to house low-income seniors
Alaska raised its daily reimbursement for assisted living homes serving low-income seniors to $113.13, a 3.5% increase critics say still lags the state's high and rising cost of care.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on $460K for teen health, senior services
The Anchorage Assembly takes up three Anchorage Health Department grant appropriations Tuesday totaling roughly $460,000 for teen pregnancy prevention, aging and disability navigation, and case management at two public housing complexes serving seniors and people with disabilities.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to vote on $360K for senior and disability services
The Anchorage Assembly takes up two resolutions on July 7 that would appropriate a combined $359,873 in state and AHFC grants to fund the Aging and Disability Resource Center and a case management specialist at two public housing complexes serving seniors and people with disabilities.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska updates Medicaid pay — providers say it's still too low
laska's yearly Medicaid rate update drew provider complaints that reimbursement still doesn't cover the cost of rural and tribal care, with public comment open through July 30.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska's abuse-reporting system is down July 10–11; use the paper form
Alaska's online Report of Harm system for abuse and neglect of seniors and people with disabilities is down July 10–11; paper reports by fax or email remain available.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska nudges up what it pays to keep seniors out of nursing homes
Governor Mike Dunleavy signed the FY 27 operating budget on June 26, triggering an immediate increase in daily reimbursement rates for Alaska's General Relief Assisted Living Home program from $109.32 to $113.13 per resident, effective Wednesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska's Medicaid self-audit deadline lands amid a fraud crackdown
Alaska Medicaid providers must file biennial self-audits by Dec. 31 and repay any overpayments, a program-integrity requirement that follows June fraud charges against 15 defendants.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A New Law Aims to Bring Alaska's Most Complex Patients Home
Governor Mike Dunleavy signed HB 73 on Thursday, creating a new 'Complex Care Residential Homes' license category in Alaska law for individuals with severe behavioral and medical needs who fall between home care and hospitalization. Regulations must be in place by July 1, 2031.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska Just Graded Its ERs on Treating Kids
Alaska ERs received individual Gap Reports grading their readiness to treat children in emergencies; a June 24 webinar helps hospitals turn the findings into action plans.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A Hoonah Corporation Quietly Builds a Cruise Empire
Huna Totem Corporation, Hoonah's Alaska Native village corporation, seeks liquor licenses for two cruise vessels — the latest step in its expanding Native-owned tourism empire.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
New Medicaid work-reporting rule puts Alaska's paperwork system in the middle of health coverage
A new federal Medicaid rule requiring adults to prove work or qualifying activity takes effect by January 2027, and Alaska faces significant administrative and geographic challenges in implementing it without cutting off eligible residents.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read