This bill establishes the Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board within the Department of Health in Alaska. The board will consist of various members, including commissioners and representatives from covered providers, direct care workers, and enrollees receiving covered services. The board's responsibilities include advising on payment rates for personal care services, investigating wages and working conditions for direct care workers, and ensuring compliance with federal requirements. The board is required to meet at least three times a year and will produce a biennial report detailing its findings and recommendations regarding service levels, working conditions, and payment adequacy.

Additionally, the bill mandates that agencies providing home and community-based services pay their employees performing personal care services a specified percentage of the total annual funding they receive from the department, starting at 70% in 2026 and increasing to 80% by 2030. There are provisions for hardship exemptions for small providers, allowing them to pay a lower percentage under certain conditions. The bill also outlines the process for the board's first meeting and preliminary investigations into workforce conditions, as well as the requirement for the Department of Health to publish annual reports on wages for workers providing covered services. The effective date of the bill is set for July 1, 2025, with certain provisions contingent upon federal approval.

Statutes affected:
HB0096A, AM HB 96, introduced 02/12/2025: 44.29.600, 44.29.910, 44.29.905, 44.29.915, 44.29.920, 44.29.925, 39.20.180, 44.29.930, 44.29.935, 44.29.940, 44.29.945, 44.29.900, U.S.C, 47.07.030, 47.07.045