Who We Are

The Coalition for Reliable Medical Access is made up of a group of diverse Alaska community leaders, small businesses, public and private sector employees, non-profits, medical professionals and concerned citizens with the shared focused of providing reliable access to medical care in Alaska. Together we advocate for maintaining healthcare quality across our state by preserving the 80th Percentile rule, and emphasizing the positive impacts the rule has had on Alaska’s unique healthcare market and vulnerable populations.

Join the Coalition

Hear From Members of Our Coalition

• Why the 80th Percentile Rule Matters •

"At a time when our group health insurance premiums have gone up by over 50% in two years and insurance companies are making record profits, we are seeing a determined effort to reduce payments to providers by insurance companies. Alaskans often only have one option for some specialties and to not guarantee payment for a patient might mean that patient won't seek care or that Specialist might leave the state if they are unable to have equitable payments."

– Rob Brown, Alaska Family Dermatology
"By repealing the 80th percentile regulation, the insurance companies stand to have greater control over the amount what they are reimbursing healthcare providers, and making it almost essential to be in network with them or else. It is the insurance companies that are driving the healthcare costs up in this nation, more than any other factor. As a partner in a private practice physical therapy company, I have seen insurance companies reduce reimbursements to physical therapy providers each year that I have been in Alaska. Meanwhile, insurance companies have been increasing their premiums each year. Now to me, that just does not make sense! They are reducing what they pay healthcare providers, but yet increasing what they collect from their insurers in premiums, and they are rolling in abundant profits!"

Justin Handy, Physical Therapist at Empower Alaska
The 80th percentile is a crucial consumer protection, without it we will see profound changes in access to care in Alaska."

Helen Adams, MD
“Transparency is important. The Alaska 80% rule promotes transparency in the insurance industry by requiring insurers to report their expenditure breakdowns to the state regulatory authorities. This transparency allows policymakers, consumers, and advocacy groups to assess how insurers are utilizing premium revenue and ensure compliance with the rule. It helps maintain accountability and discourages unfair business practices that may negatively impact policyholders.”

– Romel Wrenn, Medical Director at Porter Heart & Vascular Center (Fairbanks, AK)
"One of the few tools we have to recruit talented medical professionals to an underserved area keeping Alaskans safe."

Jordan Macneil, MD
"As a Medicare beneficiary it is hard enough to access medical care in Alaska. Repeal of the 80th percentile rule will make it more difficult for me to access care. When an insurance company has a virtual monopoly in Alaska it will cut payment to physicians which will force medical practices to limit the number of lower reimbursement appointments like Medicare and Medicaid in favor of private insurance patients."

– Pam Ventgen, Executive Director at Alaska State Medical Association
"Alaska is a hard state that recruit talented, educated and skilled providers, no matter the profession. One of our biggest draws to help encourage moving and then retention is our ability to pay our providers a salary that they feel is worth living in Alaska. In addition to this, Alaska is one of the last states in the entire country that can still provide high quality care without sacrificing it by volume. Insurance companies have tried to cut reimbursement so much that the only way to stay in business is to increase the volume of patients which is not good for anyone. Providers burnout due to overwhelm and patients end up seeing their providers for significantly last time and get worse care. This has been the other big draw to get people to come to Alaska is they get to practice medicine the way it was meant to be. Repealing this would put us back like everybody else in the lower 48 in a very broken healthcare system."

Jacob Pollard, Owner Empower Physical Therapy