Reshaping Behavioral Health in Alaska

Alaska faces unique challenges in delivering behavioral health care, given its frontier setting. Amid high demand for services, many communities are remote, requiring providers to travel by plane to reach patients. Meanwhile, outdated regulations—like service authorizations—have created unnecessary administrative burdens, pulling providers away from critical patient care. 

A service authorization is an approval that providers need to have before delivering a particular treatment or service. These authorizations are required by most private insurance companies and Medicaid, and must be done before providers receive payment. 

The requirement for service authorizations was first put in place as a cost containment effort. However, some behavioral health providers believe it’s also rooted in historical stigma and perceptions of behavioral health as less meaningful than physical health care. 

A participant in the Delta Center’s second State Learning and Action Collaborative cohort, the Alaska Behavioral Health Association (ABHA) led efforts to remove these barriers and partnered with state health officials to advance policy changes that make behavioral health care more accessible. In 2024, as a result of these efforts, the Alaska State Legislature passed a mental health parity resolution that urges the state to meet federal parity requirements, making behavioral health care as accessible as medical care. 

Of the resolution, John Solomon says, “It’s a tool to say—does this regulation help or hurt access to care? And we want to make sure that we’re doing things that are fair and equitable and making sure that people…I was able to get care when I needed help….everybody should be able to do that whether you live in remote Alaska, or in Anchorage, or in the lower 48.” 

Our new video series highlights ABHA’s journey to reshape the behavioral health landscape in Alaska. In part one, learn about the impact of administrative burdens like service authorizations on patient care. In part two, learn about the progress that ABHA is making to improve care for Alaskans.