Governor Dunleavy today in his Anchorage Office signed two pieces of timely legislation to help Alaska’s COVID-19 response and preparedness.
House Bill 206 provides financial resources to DHSS for COVID-19 preparedness and response $4 million in state funds and provides open ended authority to accept any federal funds for COVID-19 response, as requested by the Governor on March 2, 2020.
House Bill 29 requires health care insurers to provide coverage for telehealth benefits and can reduce consumer and insurer costs. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC and the Alaska Chief Medical Officer have encouraged those with flu-like symptoms to utilize telehealth benefits before overloading the healthcare system, especially emergency rooms.
For the latest information on Alaska’s response to COVID-19, please visit http://coronavirus.alaska.gov.