Emergency kits to save victims of opioid overdoses are on their way to Alaska schools, in accordance with a new law.
The law is the product of a measure, House Bill 202, that Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed on Aug. 30. The bill requires schools statewide to have kits on hand and, when schools are in session or otherwise open to the public, trained people on site to administer those kits if needed.
Although the new law formally goes into effect 90 days after the governor signed the bill, as is usually the case with Alaska legislation, the state Department of Health has already begun shipping out kits with overdose-reversal medicine and associated gear.
As of early this week, about 200 of the 500 kits that were assembled by the Department of Health have been sent to school districts, said Alex Huseman, a public information officer for the department. The department is communicating with districts to ensure successful delivery, and it is on track to get the rest of the kits delivered within the 90-day timeframe.
The bill aligns with recommendations contained in the department’s 2022-23 opioid response report to the Legislature, Dunleavy said at the bill-signing ceremony held at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District headquarters in Palmer.
“It’s a crucial measure in our ongoing battle against the opiate crisis,” he said.
He noted Alaska’s high rate of overdose deaths. As of March, the state had the nation’s biggest percentage year-over-year increase in overdose deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alaska is one of the few states in which overdose deaths increased from March 2023 to March 2024, according to the CDC. And the death toll recorded in 2023 was the highest ever for the state, according to the Alaska Department of Health.
The bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, said she was pleased that the measure passed unanimously.
Ensuring that schools are equipped with medicine and skilled people to address drug overdoses might be especially important in rural areas, Johnson said at the bill-signing ceremony. There, “schools are really the center of our communities, not just for children,” she said. “This may be the only overdose medication available in the entirety of a small town. I really believe that this is a lifesaving Alaska-wide piece of legislation that can be very —extremely — helpful and will definitely save lives.”
The new law is similar to laws or policies in place in several other states, according to Johnson’s sponsor statement. Some of those states have mandates similar to that in Alaska’s new law, and others provide free overdose-reversal drugs to schools and authorize school employees to use them, according to information provided by Johnson’s office.
Late in the session, lawmakers amended the bill to include provisions about correspondence schools. Those provisions update reporting requirements, in accordance with a state Supreme Court ruling on the way funding is provided for those educational programs.
Bills aim to increase access to health care
Dunleavy signed other health care bills into law last week, all with Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, as the prime sponsor. Wilson chairs the Senate Health and Social Services Committee.
One measure, Senate Bill 45, allows for direct health care agreements, or DHCAs, which enable patients to pay flat, periodic fees for routine medical visits without involving insurers. Such agreements are intended to complement existing insurance plans and should not be regarded as insurance, according to a statement issued by the Alaska Senate’s bipartisan majority. The bill clarifies their status and their exclusion from insurance regulations, according to the statement.
“Alaska’s high healthcare costs place a significant burden on residents, but Bill SB45 aims to ease this by allowing direct healthcare agreements between patients and providers. These agreements remove financial barriers to accessing routine care, such as preventive, wellness, and chronic care services,” Wilson said in the statement. “With a DHC plan, the doctor-patient relationship is prioritized, and providers are free from insurance paperwork. I believe this legislation will provide much-needed relief, making quality healthcare more affordable and accessible for all Alaskans.”
Also signed into law were two bills allowing Alaska health professionals to be part of national compacts, thus obtaining the right to practice in other member states. One was Senate Bill 74, which brings Alaska into an Interstate Physical Therapy Compact. The other compacting measure was Senate Bill 75, which applies to audiologists — health care professionals who treat hearing loss and balance disorders — and speech-language pathologists, who assess and treat communication and swallowing problems.
“With the signing of SB 74 and SB 75, Alaska has entered professional licensure compacts for the first time. These bills pave the way for more providers in our state. They are a win for providers, and they are a win for patients waiting for care. Alaska needs to improve our professional licensing structure; today, we have taken one step towards that goal,” Wilson said in the Senate Majority statement.
The compacting bills had support from a diverse group of organizations, including AARP Alaska, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the U.S. Department of Defense. The bill received praise from Tammie L. Perreault, the Defense Department’s regional liaison for its military, community and policy office.
“Occupational Licensure compacts have been identified by the Department of Defense as the best form of licensure reciprocity for professionals moving across state lines. SB 74 and 75 provide specific provisions to support military spouses,” Perreault wrote in a letter to lawmakers.
A different health-provider compacting bill failed to reach a floor vote before the legislative session adjourned. That measure, House Bill 149, and its companion version, Senate Bill 130, would have entered Alaska into an interstate nursing compact. The bill’s aim was to help alleviate Alaska’s nursing shortage, said the sponsor statement for the House version.
• Yereth Rosen came to Alaska in 1987 to work for the Anchorage Times. She has reported for Reuters, for the Alaska Dispatch News, for Arctic Today and for other organizations. She covers environmental issues, energy, climate change, natural resources, economic and business news, health, science and Arctic concerns. This article originally appeared online at alaskabeacon.com. Alaska Beacon, an affiliate of States Newsroom, is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government.
