Read the full stored bill text
Enrolled HB 96
LAWS OF ALASKA
2026
Source Chapter No.
CSHB 96(L&C) am _______
AN ACT
Establishing the Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board; relating to payment for
personal care services; and providing for an effective date.
_______________
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
THE ACT FOLLOWS ON PAGE 1
-1- Enrolled HB 96
AN ACT
Establishing the Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board; relating to payment for 1
personal care services; and providing for an effective date. 2
_______________ 3
* Section 1. AS 44.29 is amended by adding new sections to read: 4
Article 10. Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board. 5
Sec. 44.29.900. Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board. The 6
Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board is established in the department. 7
Sec. 44.29.905. Composition of the board. The board consists of 8
(1) the commissioner of health or the commissioner's designee, who 9
shall serve as the chair and is a nonvoting member, except in the case of a tie; 10
(2) the commissioner of labor and workforce development or the 11
commissioner's designee, who is a nonvoting member; and 12
(3) eight members appointed by the commissioner of health, as follows: 13
(A) two voting members who represent covered providers, 14
Enrolled HB 96 -2-
including at least one agency that provided at least 700,000 units of personal 1
care services during the previous calendar year and one agency that provides 2
habilitation services; 3
(B) two voting members who represent direct care workers, at 4
least one of whom is a labor representative of at least 300 direct care workers; a 5
member appointed under this subparagraph may not be a representative of an 6
organization or association that advocates for the interests of covered providers 7
or agencies that provide covered services; 8
(C) one voting member who is an enrollee or a representative of 9
enrollees receiving covered services; 10
(D) one voting member who represents the office within the 11
department with responsibility for rate review; 12
(E) one nonvoting member who represents the Alaska 13
Commission on Aging or another organization that represents seniors in the 14
state; and 15
(F) one nonvoting member who represents the Governor's 16
Council on Disabilities and Special Education established under AS 44.29.600 17
or another organization that represents people with disabilities in the state. 18
Sec. 44.29.910. Term of office, vacancies, and removal of appointed 19
members. (a) The members of the board appointed under AS 44.29.905(3) serve two-20
year terms and may be reappointed. 21
(b) A member of the board appointed under AS 44.29.905(3) serves at the 22
pleasure of the commissioner, except that the commissioner shall remove a member 23
who no longer meets the qualifications of the seat for which the member was appointed. 24
(c) The commissioner may appoint an individual to fill a vacancy under 25
AS 44.29.905(3) only after providing public notice of the vacancy and soliciting 26
applications for the appointment. The commissioner shall fill the vacancy within six 27
months after the date the vacancy occurs. An appointment to fill the vacancy is for the 28
remainder of the unexpired term. 29
Sec. 44.29.915. Meetings. The board shall meet at the call of the chair. The 30
board shall meet at least three times each year and shall hold additional meetings as 31
-3- Enrolled HB 96
often as necessary to accomplish the duties of the board. A meeting may be held by 1
teleconference or other electronic means. At each meeting, the board shall provide time 2
for public testimony. 3
Sec. 44.29.920. Quorum. A majority of the voting members of the board 4
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and a majority of a quorum present 5
at a meeting is sufficient to approve a recommendation of the board. 6
Sec. 44.29.925. Compensation. Members of the board receive no compensation 7
for service on the board but are entitled to per diem and travel expenses authorized for 8
boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180. 9
Sec. 44.29.930. Powers and duties of the board. (a) The board shall 10
(1) advise and consult with the department on the medical assistance 11
program payment rates for covered services and payment rate adequacy and compliance 12
with federal requirements regarding reporting of payment adequacy data; 13
(2) investigate matters related to the wages, working conditions, and 14
workforce adequacy of workers providing covered services in the state, including 15
(A) the adequacy of wages, benefits, and other compensation to 16
ensure the provision of quality services and sufficient levels of recruitment and 17
retention; 18
(B) the sufficiency of levels of recruitment for and retention of 19
workers, particularly in an area that is not on a road system; 20
(C) the sufficiency of service levels of and the effect of service 21
level reductions on covered services, as the services pertain to wages and 22
working conditions; 23
(D) the adequacy and enforcement of training requirements; 24
(E) the effect of workforce shortages on service recipients and 25
on family members and friends of service recipients providing unpaid care, 26
including compliance with federal requirements to report information to the 27
United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare 28
and Medicaid Services, regarding wait times for covered services and the 29
percentage of authorized hours for covered services; 30
(F) the economic impact of achieving a living wage for direct 31
Enrolled HB 96 -4-
care workers and reducing levels of unpaid care; 1
(G) the adequacy of payment practices and policies related to the 2
payment rates of certified providers of covered services; and 3
(H) the effect of the state's long-term care system on wages and 4
working conditions. 5
(b) A state agency that receives a reasonable request for data, information, or 6
testimony from the board shall comply with the request as soon as is reasonably 7
practicable, and, when the board requests direct testimony for a board meeting, the head 8
of the agency or the designee of the head of the agency shall appear at the meeting and 9
provide testimony. 10
Sec. 44.29.935. Biennial report. (a) The board shall biennially prepare a written 11
report in digital format, submit the report to the commissioner, the legislative 12
committees having jurisdiction over health and social services, and the senate secretary 13
and the chief clerk of the house of representatives, and notify the legislature that the 14
report is available. The commissioner shall make the report available to the public on 15
the department's Internet website. 16
(b) The biennial report must be based on the results of the board's investigation 17
under AS 44.29.930(a)(2) and must include key findings and recommendations 18
regarding 19
(1) rates and service levels of covered services; 20
(2) adequacy of rates and service levels of covered services to ensure 21
the provision of quality services, improved recruitment and retention, and compliance 22
with federal standards; 23
(3) safe and healthy working conditions for workers providing covered 24
services; 25
(4) reducing any barrier to recruiting for and retaining workers providing 26
covered services throughout the state, particularly in an area that is not on a road system; 27
(5) reducing the level of unpaid care in the state and systemic 28
overreliance on family members and friends of service recipients who provide unpaid 29
care; and 30
(6) sufficiency of covered services payment adequacy data and access 31
-5- Enrolled HB 96
to care metrics. 1
(c) The department shall take the recommendations of the board into 2
consideration when setting rates for covered services. If the rate set by the department 3
for a covered service differs significantly from the rate recommended by the board, the 4
commissioner shall notify the board and the chair of each legislative committee having 5
jurisdiction of health and social services in writing. 6
Sec. 44.29.940. Publication of reports. On July 1 of each year, or within 30 7
days after receiving the biennial report from the board, the department shall publish on 8
the department's publicly available Internet website an annual report containing the 9
weighted average of and median hourly wages, by agency, for workers providing 10
covered services. 11
Sec. 44.29.945. Definitions. In AS 44.29.900 - 44.29.945, 12
(1) " board" means the Home Care Employment Standards Advisory 13
Board; 14
(2) "commissioner" means the commissioner of health; 15
(3) "covered provider" means an eligible Medicaid provider certified by 16
the department to provide one or more covered services; 17
(4) "covered services" means 18
(A) chore services provided under a section 1915(k) option 19
under 42 U.S.C. 1396n; 20
(B) hourly respite services provided under a waiver in 21
accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1396 - 1396p; 22
(C) personal care services; 23
(D) habilitation services; 24
(5) "department" means the Department of Health; 25
(6) "direct care worker" means an individual who is employed by a 26
covered provider to provide one or more covered services; 27
(7) "habilitation services" means services designed to assist individuals 28
in acquiring, retaining, and improving the self-help, socialization, and adaptive skills 29
necessary to reside successfully in home and community-based settings, provided under 30
a waiver in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1396 - 1396p; 31
Enrolled HB 96 -6-
(8) " personal care services" means services provided under a section 1
1915(k) option under 42 U.S.C. 1396n, under AS 47.07.030, or under a waiver in 2
accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1396 - 1396p. 3
* Sec. 2. AS 47.07.045 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 4
(f) Except as provided in (g) of this section, an agency providing home and 5
community-based services shall pay as compensation and benefits to its employees 6
performing personal care services, 7
(1) beginning July 1, 2027, at least 70 percent of the total annual amount 8
of funding the agency receives for personal care services from the department; and 9
(2) beginning July 1, 2030, at least 80 percent of the total annual amount 10
of funding the agency receives for personal care services from the department. 11
(g) The department may grant to an agency providing home and community-12
based services a hardship exemption from the requirements of (f) of this section if the 13
agency is facing extraordinary circumstances or is a small provider, as defined by the 14
department. The department shall adopt regulations establishing procedures and 15
objective criteria for granting a hardship exemption under this subsection. An agency 16
that is granted a hardship exemption shall pay as compensation and benefits to its 17
employees performing personal care services, 18
(1) beginning July 1, 2027, at least 60 percent of the total annual amount 19
of funding the agency receives for personal care services from the department; and 20
(2) beginning July 1, 2036, at least 80 percent of the total annual amount 21
of funding the agency receives for personal care services from the department. 22
(h) The amount calculated under (f) and (g) of this section for compensation 23
and benefits paid to employees may not include costs expended on employees by an 24
agency for personal protective equipment, required training, and travel costs such as 25
mileage reimbursement or public transportation. 26
(i) In this section, "personal care services" has the meaning given in 27
AS 44.29.945. 28
* Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 29
read: 30
APPOINTMENTS AND FIRST MEETING. (a) The first meeting of the Home Care 31
-7- Enrolled HB 96
Employment Standards Advisory Board established under AS 44.29.900, added by sec. 1 of 1
this Act, must take place on or before October 1, 2027. 2
(b) The commissioner of health shall appoint all board members under 3
AS 44.29.905(3), added by sec. 1 of this Act, before the board's first meeting. 4
* Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 5
read: 6
MEDICAID STATE PLAN. To the extent necessary to implement this Act, the 7
Department of Health shall amend and submit for approval by the United States Department of 8
Health and Human Services the state plan under AS 47.07.045, as amended by sec. 2 of this 9
Act. 10
* Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 11
read: 12
CONDITIONAL EFFECT; NOTIFICATION. (a) Section 2 of this Act takes effect only 13
if, and to the extent that, on or before January 1, 2027, the United States Department of Health 14
and Human Services 15
(1) approves amendments submitted in accordance with sec. 4 of this Act; or 16
(2) determines that approval of the amendments to the state plan under 17
AS 47.07.045 is not necessary. 18
(b) The commissioner of health shall notify the revisor of statutes in writing within 30 19
days after the United States Department of Health and Human Services approves amendments 20
to the state plan or determines that approval is not necessary under this section. 21
* Sec. 6. If sec. 2 of this Act takes effect, it takes effect on the day after the date on which the 22
United States Department of Health and Human Services approves the amendments to the state 23
plan submitted under sec. 4 of this Act or determines that approval is not necessary under sec. 24
5 of this Act. 25
* Sec. 7. Except as provided in sec. 6 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2027. 26