Alaska 34th Alaska State Legislature Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 1 R · 1 D cosponsors

SB 121 — An Act relating to settlement of health insurance claims; relating to allowable charges for health care services or supplies; and providing for an effective date.

Last action — (S) REFERRED TO FINANCE

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 05, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 34% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (1 R · 1 D) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

48 added · 47 removed

Plain-language change summary

The revised version of SB 121 clarifies the language around allowable charges for health care services, specifically stating that these charges must be the same across the state and providing a definite structure for determining these charges based on the 75th percentile of state charges. Additionally, the amendment specifies that primary care providers will always receive charges equal to or greater than 450 percent of the federal Medicare fee schedule. This change is important because it aims to ensure fairer reimbursement for healthcare providers and can help maintain consistent healthcare costs for patients throughout the state.

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34-LS0282\I CS FOR SENATE BILL NO.
34-LS0282\N SENATE BILL NO.
121(HSS) IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION BY THE SENATE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE Referred:
121 IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION BY SENATORS GIESSEL BY REQUEST, Gray-Jackson Introduced:
Labor & Commerce Sponsor(s):
3/5/25 Referred:
SENATORS GIESSEL BY REQUEST, Gray-Jackson A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED "An Act relating to settlement of health insurance claims;
Health and Social Services, Labor and Commerce A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED "An Act relating to settlement of health insurance claims;
Allowable charges must be based on the most current data available that shows amounts charged by health care providers in the state for the service or supply over a 12-month period, must be the same across the state, and be the greater of the allowable charge or 450 SB0121B -1- CSSB 121(HSS) New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 34-LS0282\I percent of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services fee schedule for the state in effect at the time of delivery of the health care service or supply.
Allowable charges must be based on the most current data available that shows amounts charged by health care providers in the state for the service or supply over a 12-month period and must be the same across the state.
An allowable charge may not be less than the 75th percentile of charges in the state for a health care service or supply as defined by the Current Procedural Terminology adopted by the American Medical Association or other industry standard method of coding, but the director may set an allowable charge at a higher percentile.
An allowable charge may not be less than the SB0121A -1- SB 121 New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 34-LS0282\N 75th percentile of charges in the state for a health care service or supply as defined by the Current Procedural Terminology adopted by the American Medical Association or other industry standard method of coding, but the director may set an allowable charge at a higher percentile.
Allowable charges for primary care providers must be the greater of the allowable charge or 450 percent of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services fee schedule for the state in effect at the time of delivery of the health care service or supply.
(c) A health care insurer shall uniformly and equally apply reimbursement rates for an allowable charge under (a) of this section for the same type of health care service or supply and for health care providers who are practicing within the scope of their license and who are authorized to bill for health care services or supplies under the Current Procedural Terminology code adopted by the American Medical Association or other industry standard method of coding.
(c) A health care insurer shall uniformly and equally apply reimbursement rates for the same type of health care service or supply and for health care providers who are practicing within the scope of their license and who are authorized to bill for health care services or supplies under the Current Procedural Terminology code adopted by the American Medical Association or other industry standard method of coding.
1 of this Act, a health care insurer shall set allowable charges for services and supplies for calendar year 2026 based on the most current data available that shows the amounts charged by health care providers in the state for the services and supplies over a 12-month period beginning in 2023 or earlier.
1 of this Act, a health care insurer shall set allowable charges for services and supplies for calendar year 2026 based on the most current data available that shows the amounts charged by health care providers in the state for the services and supplies SB 121 -2- SB0121A New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 34-LS0282\N over a 12-month period beginning in 2023 or earlier.
Beginning in calendar year 2029, CSSB 121(HSS) -2- SB0121B New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 34-LS0282\I allowable charges must be based on the most current data available at that time that shows the amounts charged by health care providers in the state for the services and supplies over a 12- month period.
Beginning in calendar year 2029, allowable charges must be based on the most current data available at that time that shows the amounts charged by health care providers in the state for the services and supplies over a 12- month period.
SB0121B -3- CSSB 121(HSS) New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
SB0121A -3- SB 121 New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
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Action History

  1. (S) REFERRED TO FINANCE

  2. (S) FIN REFERRAL ADDED

  3. (S) FN3: (CED)

  4. (S) FN2: (ADM)

  5. (S) NR: DUNBAR, YUNDT

  6. (S) DP: GRAY-JACKSON

  7. (S) AM: BJORKMAN

  8. (S) L&C RPT CS 1AM 1DP 2NR NEW TITLE

  9. (S) Moved CSSB 121(L&C) Out of Committee

  10. (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  11. (S) Heard & Held

  12. (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  13. (S) Minutes (SL&C)

  14. (S) -- <Above Item Removed from Agenda> --

  15. (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  16. (S) Minutes (SL&C)

  17. (S) Heard & Held

  18. (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  19. (S) Minutes (SL&C)

  20. (S) Heard & Held

  21. (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  22. (S) FN1: (CED)

  23. (S) DP: GIESSEL

  24. (S) NR: DUNBAR, HUGHES, CLAMAN, TOBIN

  25. (S) HSS RPT CS 4NR 1DP SAME TITLE

  26. (S) Minutes (SHSS)

  27. (S) Moved CSSB 121(HSS) Out of Committee

  28. (S) HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205

  29. (S) Minutes (SHSS)

  30. (S) Heard & Held

  31. (S) HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205

  32. (S) COSPONSOR(S): GRAY-JACKSON

  33. (S) Minutes (SHSS)

  34. (S) Heard & Held

  35. (S) HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205

  36. (S) HSS, L&C

  37. (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 63 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (63)

63 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 63 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

healthcare health-insurance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 121?
SB 121 is sponsored by Elvi Gray-Jackson (D) and Cathy Giessel (R).
What is the current status of SB 121?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 05, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 121?
Track SB 121 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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