Bill > SB4

This bill, known as the Alaska Health Care Consumer's Right to Shop Act, introduces a comprehensive health care insurance policy incentive program designed to provide transparency and financial benefits to consumers. The legislation requires health care insurers offering group or individual market policies to develop an online price comparison tool that allows enrolled individuals to compare cost-sharing responsibilities for specific medical services across different providers. Additionally, the bill establishes a monetary incentive program where consumers who choose lower-cost healthcare providers can receive a percentage of the cost savings. For group health insurance policies, the covered person would receive 33.4% of the savings, while the employer would receive 33.3%, and for individual market policies, the covered person would receive at least 50% of the savings. The bill mandates that insurers provide annual notices about the program's availability and requires insurers to report detailed program statistics to the state's insurance director. To ensure compliance and implementation, the bill allows the insurance director to adopt necessary regulations and sets the program's effective date as January 1, 2026. The legislation aims to encourage cost-conscious healthcare decisions by financially rewarding consumers who choose more affordable medical services while providing greater price transparency in the healthcare market.

Business and Industry, Health and Social Services

https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Detail/34?Root=SB4