The People’s Health Trust

A 25-Year Plan for Healthy Alaskans

Goal

Ensure every Alaskan can afford quality healthcare regardless of where they live, while reducing long-term costs instead of simply spending more money.

1. Create the Alaska People’s Health Trust

Instead of healthcare being driven primarily by insurance companies, create an independent public trust that purchases healthcare on behalf of Alaskans.

The Trust would:

Negotiate statewide prices for hospitals and prescription drugs.

Operate independently from political influence.

Be governed by healthcare professionals, business leaders, workers, and citizens.

Publish every contract and financial report online.

2. No One Goes Broke Getting Sick

Work toward eliminating:

Deductibles

Co-pays

Surprise medical bills

People should make healthcare decisions based on what keeps them healthy, not what they can afford that month.

3. Expand Primary Care Across Alaska

Invest heavily in:

Rural clinics

Mobile medical teams

Telemedicine

Dental care

Vision care

Behavioral health

Every community deserves access to a primary care provider without flying hundreds of miles whenever possible.

4. Grow Alaska’s Healthcare Workforce

Offer scholarships and loan forgiveness for Alaskans who become:

Nurses

Doctors

Physician assistants

Mental health counselors

EMTs

Dentists

Pharmacists

In exchange for several years serving in Alaska communities.

5. Lower Prescription Drug Costs

The State should:

Negotiate bulk purchasing.

Expand use of safe generic medications.

Increase price transparency.

Create an emergency medication assistance program.

6. Invest in Prevention

Pay for prevention because it costs less than crisis care.

Increase funding for:

Diabetes prevention

Cancer screening

Heart disease

Mental health

Addiction treatment

Nutrition

Exercise programs

Every dollar spent preventing illness saves multiple dollars in future healthcare costs.

7. Modernize Emergency Services

Expand:

Air ambulance coordination

Rural paramedic training

Tele-emergency medicine

Behavioral health crisis teams

Reduce emergency room overcrowding by helping patients receive the right care in the right setting.

8. Increase Transparency

Require hospitals, clinics, and insurers to publicly report:

Prices

Patient outcomes

Wait times

Infection rates

Patient satisfaction

Competition works better when people know what they’re paying for.

9. Reduce Waste Before Raising Taxes

Require annual performance audits to identify:

Administrative duplication

Fraud

Unnecessary paperwork

Inefficient purchasing

Savings should be reinvested directly into patient care.

10. A Sustainable Funding Model

Rather than relying entirely on higher taxes:

Capture savings from reduced administrative costs.

Reduce preventable hospitalizations through preventive care.

Negotiate lower healthcare prices statewide.

Consider your proposed automation/AI contribution model, where businesses replacing large numbers of workers contribute to long-term public healthcare funding.

Seek every available federal matching dollar without surrendering Alaska’s decision-making authority.

Expected Results

Within 10 years:

More doctors and nurses practicing in Alaska.

Shorter wait times.

Lower insurance costs.

Better rural access.

Improved mental healthcare.

Lower prescription drug prices.

Better health outcomes.

Healthcare focused on patients instead of paperwork.

This plan also complements the priorities you’ve discussed throughout your campaign: investing in Alaska’s workforce, improving access in rural communities, demanding transparency, and planning beyond the next election cycle rather than the next budget cycle. Alaska’s healthcare system is expensive partly because of geography and workforce shortages, so addressing those root causes is just as important as changing how care is financed.