Gov. Walker signs health care price transparency bill

A new Alaska law aims to increase transparency about medical costs and expand access to behavioral health services.

Gov. Bill Walker signed Senate Bill 105 into law Monday. It combines three different pieces of health care legislation into one and requires health care providers to post signs letting patients know they can request estimates of medical costs in advance. Patients must receive the estimates within 10 days of asking. It also requires providers to post the costs of their most common procedures.

In addition, the law allows independent, licensed marital and family counselors to bill Medicaid directly. The goal is to increase the number of behavioral health providers who will accept Medicaid patients. There’s currently a shortage of Medicaid-eligible behavioral health providers in the state.

Behavioral health services include treatment for substance abuse, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders and other mental health conditions.