Foundation Health Partners’ (FHP) Chief Executive Officer Shelley Ebenal, Chief Nursing Officer Sarah Martin, RN, and Chief Human Resources Officer Nicole Welch join Greater Fairbanks Community Hospital Foundation (GFCHF) Executive Committee members Karen Perdue and Steve Frank in Alaska’s capital city to advocate for healthcare in the Interior.

A unified voice in Juneau. Foundation Health Partners’ (FHP) Chief Executive Officer Shelley Ebenal, Chief Nursing Officer Sarah Martin, RN, and Chief Human Resources Officer Nicole Welch join Greater Fairbanks Community Hospital Foundation (GFCHF) Executive Committee members Karen Perdue and Steve Frank in Alaska’s capital city to advocate for healthcare in the Interior.

The contingent is in Juneau participating in the Alaska Hospital & Healthcare Association’s (AHHA) annual Legislative Fly-In Monday and Tuesday, but will remain at the capitol for an additional day of meetings with Alaska legislators and commissioners. Formerly known as the Alaska State Hospital & Nursing Home Association, AHHA is in its 70^th year of providing policy and advocacy expertise for Alaska’s hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare partners across the continuum of care. The fly-in offers members a chance to review 2023 legislative priorities and meet with state officials to discuss healthcare policy and legislation.

“FHP faces challenges very similar to what other healthcare entities across the state face,” Ebenal said. “The AHHA Legislative Fly-In offers a great opportunity to pool resources and networking opportunities in an effort to improve healthcare in Alaska.”

CEO Ebenal currently serves as AHHA Chair, and has previously chaired the association’s legislative committee, served as secretary/treasurer, and vice chair. The 2-day conference will feature updates from the commissioners of Alaska’s Department of Health and Department of Family and Community Services, and brief meetings with other state commissioners and directors. Day two includes an in-depth analysis of Alaska’s healthcare workforce, an update from the Division of Insurance, and an overview of Alaska’s economy and workforce.

In addition to conference sessions, the FHP/GFCHF group has individual meetings scheduled with Department of Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum, members of the Interior legislative delegation, and 17 other state lawmakers who hold positions on key committees that can affect change to the state’s healthcare landscape.

“We’re going to Juneau with a unified voice, and we intend to have that voice heard,” CEO Ebenal said. “There are areas where we flat out need help from the state.”

FHP’s 2023 legislative priorities, for the most part, align with the legislative priorities of AHHA. The priorities listed below include points of emphasis for Foundation Health Partners.

• Medicaid and Medicare recipient represent over 50% of FHP patients served.
• FHP financial stability is strained by low reimbursement rates of 37% through State Medicaid and 25% for Federal Medicare.
• FHP current year losses are estimated at $18-20 million due primarily to COVID-19 related labor shortages. We need additional COVID financial relief until the labor situation abates.
• Inadequate government reimbursements and medial tourism put our health system at great financial risk.  

• Alaska’s hospital emergency rooms are undergoing increased admissions of children experiencing severe behavioral health episodes. Extended holds and delayed discharges are due in large part to the lack of appropriate care and safe placement alternatives.
• FHP strongly believes children experiencing trauma should receive mental and behavioral health treatment in locations as close to home as possible until they are stabilized, and short or long-term treatment is secured
• The state of Alaska should provide sufficient funding to actively engage with FCSA to fully utilize the facility. DoH and DFCS commissioners and top admin. staff initiated and recently met in Fairbanks to view facilities and discuss adolescent treatment solutions with FMH and FCSA.

• Proponents of CON repeal stand on a flawed assumption that the healthcare market functions as a normal free market and that competition will reduce prices. In truth, new unnecessary facilities will require increased State Medicaid reimbursements and general funds to cover the costs of unnecessary healthcare facilities.
• A realistic fiscal note must include the costs of overbuilt infrastructure costing tens of millions of dollars
• CON regulation prevents duplication of healthcare infrastructure not unlike regulated utilities.
• FMH provides 24-hour emergency medical services; an unavoidable high-cost operational expense. Specialty hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers are not required to provide these services or accept Medicaid or Medicare patients.
• Read Steve Frank’s opinion piece that appeared in the Feb 2 edition of the Anchorage Daily News.

• Federal law prevents FMH from discharging patients without proof of a medically safe home or facility. FMH receives no compensation for these ‘social admits.’ FHP estimates this cost to be above $6 million per year.
• FHP requests State of Alaska reimbursement of ‘housing’ costs while implementing an alternative housing solution for these individuals either through public or private sector assisted living homes.

• The post-COVID impact to Alaska’s healthcare labor shortage has created an unsustainable nursing workforce. FHP requests the Interior Delegation’s support and full engagement in the passage of legislation authorizing implementation of the national Nurse Licensure Compact to mitigate reliance on non-resident nurse travelers now utilized to maintain healthcare services in Alaska.
• FHP has had to hire 3-times the number of non-residents traveling nurses than average, at a cost of over $10 million to maintain the delivery of safe and reliable healthcare in the Interior.