Alaska ranks among the worst states in the nation for healthcare affordability and access, according to a recent analysis by America First Healthcare, a private healthcare agency that aims to promote a “patriotic healthcare culture that prioritizes families over government mandates and people over politics.”
A new report by AFH scores all 50 states on factors including per capita health expenditures, doctor and dental visit costs, prescription drug prices, optometrist fees, and income levels. Alaska finished with the second-worst healthcare burden score, just behind New York.
Alaska’s chronic problems stem largely from severe access barriers that drive up costs, the report found. It notes that Alaska has just 2,367 physicians and a total healthcare workforce of only 44,490. This translates into one of the worst states in terms of doctor availability. Many residents have little to no local options and are forced to pay higher prices or simply forgo needed care.
The report puts Alaska’s per-capita healthcare spending at $13,642, the second-highest in the nation, with average visits being $142 for a doctor and $174 for a dentist. Insurance coverage is also among the country’s worst – at 88.9%.
The combination of lower coverage with the second-highest cost burden shows that reduced coverage does not translate into lower overall costs but instead creates a chronic structural problem, the report found.
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More efficient states, however, have higher coverage without imposing the same cost burdens that Alaskans endure.
The report concludes that Alaska’s challenges are the result of remote communities and long distances between providers, which are exacerbated by limited competition that might otherwise drive prices down. The report warns that failure to address these problems will result in continued difficulties.
For years, the Policy Forum has been calling for health care reforms to encourage market competition, greater efficiency and expanded access. Specifically, the group has urged lawmakers to repeal Alaska’s onerous “certificate-of-need laws,” which require healthcare providers to obtain state approval before they can build or expand new facilities, add beds for intensive care, acute rehab, obstetric, surgical or pediatric, purchase major equipment like MRI or CT scanners, or offer certain services.
