Alaska’s Health Care Price Transparency Law

Alaska’s new health care price transparency law (AS 18.23.400) went into effect January 2019. The law requires health care providers and facilities to post the prices of their most common procedures. The State of Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services will allow health care providers and facilities more time to comply with the law.

Pursuant to the enforcement discretion granted to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) in AS 18.23.400(k), DHSS has announced the following regarding the posting and publication of health care procedure prices and provision of good faith estimates under AS 18.23.400:

• DHSS will not impose a penalty on any health care provider or health care facility for failure to comply with AS 18.23.400(a) – (f), requiring price collection, posting, and reporting to DHSS, beginning January 1, 2019 and continuing until implementing regulations are in effect.
• DHSS expects that health care facilities, providers, and insurers will comply with AS 18.23.400(g)-(i), requiring provision of good faith estimates on request to patients, beginning on January 1, 2019. However, DHSS will not impose a penalty on any health care facilities, providers, or insurers for failure to comply with AS 18.23.400(g)-(i) until implementing regulations are in effect.