Bills on psychedelics, temporary nursing permits and medical reviews pass in Alaska Legislature

The Alaska Senate on Friday passed a trio of bills broadly aimed at improving delivery of health care, granting final approval to the measures. All three, which originated in the House, are now headed to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for his consideration.

One measure, House Bill 228, would set up a state task force to recommend regulations for use of psychedelic medicines that the federal government is expected to approve soon. The first of those medicines expected to be approved, called MDMA, is considered useful for treating post-traumatic stress disorder. Approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is anticipated within months.

Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, who carried the bill on the Senate side, pointed out that it does not legalize or take any position on psychedelic medicines.

“Instead, it creates a task force designed to prepare Alaska and our regulatory framework should the FDA approve the medical use of these substances, which some folks are anticipating could happen as early as August this year,” he said.

Alaska is well-positioned to benefit from psychedelic therapies, Dunbar said. Among all U.S. states, Alaska has the highest percentage of military veterans, some of whom have suffered post-traumatic stress, he said. Alaska also has high rates of suicide and large numbers of residents who have endured domestic violence and other traumatic events that lead to mental health problems, he said.

Psychedelic-assisted therapy “can help some of those people. Not everyone, but some. And that means everything in the world,” he said.

He referred to “powerful” supportive testimony from military veterans and health experts that senators heard in committee.

The bill was also guided by input from Indigenous experts, Dunbar said.

“In addition to calling together experts from public health and the Alaska Psychiatric Association and the registered nurse alliance and more, this bill also has voices from the Alaska Native and traditional healing communities,” he said. “They have been using some of these naturally occurring medicines for thousands of years. And it was important to myself and the sponsor in the other body that those Indigenous voices were heard, as they perhaps haven’t been in other states that have gone down this path and are tackling this issue.”

The Senate passed the bill by an 18-1 vote. Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, cast the lone vote in opposition.

The House had passed the bill on May 2 by a 36-4 vote.

In floor comments leading up to that vote, Rep. Jennie Armstrong, D-Anchorage, the main sponsor, also referred to military veterans’ mental-health challenges. And she pointed to results from clinical trials.

“The Phase 3 trial data for the MDMA therapy that is currently under review found that 71.2% of patients who completed this therapy no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. If I could drop this mike, I would,” Armstrong said. “I just cannot stress how much of a miracle that is for folks who went from having severe PTSD who are unable to lead normal lives and many of whom are suicidal to having their lives completely changed and be so radically healed in just a few months.”

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Temporary nursing permits and changes to the medical review system

The second health bill approved by the Senate on Friday would allow nurses with lapsed state licenses to be granted temporary permits valid for up to six months. Such temporary permits are already granted to nurses who are applying for their initial state licenses, lawmakers pointed out. Giving the same opportunity to nurses who previously had licenses will help encourage some to return more quickly to service in Alaska from retirement or other breaks, they said.

The measure, House Bill 237, is a technical fix to “a problem that we should have addressed a long time ago,” said Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, who carried the bill on the Senate side, where it was approved unanimously.

Granting a temporary license to those seeking reinstatement of lapsed licenses poses no more risk to the public than does the current temporary licensing of first-time applicants, he said in floor comments. “A person with a lapsed Alaska nursing license is a person that meets all the nurses’ licensing requirements back when they first applied,” he said.

The bill is one way the state can address its nursing shortage, Wilson added.

A similar pitch was made when the bill passed unanimously in the House on March 13.

There, House Majority Leader Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, praised the bill in comments just before the vote was taken.

“Having known a nurse for many years, I know that I can speak confidently that once a nurse, always a nurse, at heart if not necessarily in the eyes of the law,” Saddler said, referring to a family member. “Given the significant needs for health care workers at all levels in our state and the paucity of nurses to fill them, I think this bill is an innovative, creative and eminently good bill to help retired nurses who want to return to full licensed status to help provide for the health care needs of Alaskans.”

The bill will do more than shorten the time needed to get nurses back to work, Saddler added. “It may save six months, but it may also save lives.”

The third health measure approved by the Senate on Friday, House Bill 371, makes changes to the way groups in Alaska that review patient deaths are organized and managed.

“House Bill 371 will improve the review committee process for the medical review organization to better prevent and reduce avoidable deaths, illnesses and injuries for Alaskans,” Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, said in floor comments preceding the vote. Bjorkman was carrying the bill on the Senate side for the sponsor, a fellow Kenai Peninsula legislator, Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna.

The organizations review deaths and bad outcomes to make recommendations for improvements, Bjorkman said. The bill expands the pool of professionals who can participate in review committees by replacing a list of specific types of providers with a broader definition “that encompasses more of the industry,” Bjorkman said. The bill also allows for inclusion of other professionals who might have relevant knowledge, such as state troopers, first responders and social workers, he said. It transfers committee approval duties to the state Department of Health chief medical officer from the state medical board, a change expected to improve efficiencies, he said. And it clarifies the way nonconfidential information and summary data may be released, he said.

The bill passed the House on March 25 by a 33-7 vote.

Another health bill that has moved forward is a measure, House Bill 285, that would bar insurance companies from requiring patients to share costs of diagnostic breast examinations, procedures that are more thorough and specialized than the basic screening mammograms that most patients use. That bill, sponsored by Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage, passed the House by a 37-1 vote on April 26 and was pending in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee as of Friday.

Originally published by the Alaska Beacon, an independent, nonpartisan news organization that covers Alaska state government.