Solicitation for Public Input – Department of Health, Office of Rate Review, Regulatory Revisions.

Notice of Public Scoping Under Administrative Order 360 for possible Department of Health, Office of Rate Review, Regulation Changes (Title 7).

Background. In response to Administrative Order 360, the Department of Health is soliciting written and oral comments from affected industries, community organizations, and the general public regarding regulations and materials incorporated by reference in

•  Chapter 07. Certificate of Need (7 AAC 07.001 — 7 AAC 07.900).

The Department of Health is undertaking this solicitation process to ask the public for ideas, suggestions, and input before the Department of Health drafts or proposes any specific regulation amendments or repeals for public review.

The Department of Health is particularly interested in specific ideas for regulatory change that may:

• clarify existing regulatory obligations;
• reduce costs for the public, industry, or government;
• improve or streamline procedures, application requirements, and review processes, for example, reducing the time required to apply for a license, permit, or benefit;
• reduce administrative burdens;
• streamline permitting procedures;
• improve communication procedures;
• provide greater transparency with respect to standards, decision-making, and rationales for application processing; or
• clarify interagency roles.

Written comments. Written comments must be received by 12:00 p.m., October 29, 2025. Written comments may be sent to nicole.lebo@alaska.gov.

Public meeting. Oral comments may be submitted at a hearing to be held on October 22, 2025. The hearing will be offered as a telephone and internet-accessible Zoom meeting. You may join the Zoom meeting by either using the Zoom website link or by calling the Zoom Call-in toll-free telephone number and using the Meeting ID and Passcode as follows:

• To attend the meeting or provide oral comments by telephone, please use the Zoom Call-in Toll-free Number: 1-833-928-4609 (US Toll-free); Meeting ID: 896 5310 0086; and Passcode: 764149.
• To attend the meeting and provide oral comments by the Zoom website link, please use the Meeting Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89653100086?pwd=IHTfNB70f6mA2Ax57AFKHYlnI6VaIA.1 ; Meeting ID: 896 5310 0086; and Passcode: 764149.

There will not be in-person attendance provided at the hearing site, so please prepare to share your oral comments by telephone only.  The hearing is scheduled from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., and priority will be given to commenters on the line before the beginning of the hearing. The hearing may be extended to accommodate those on the line before 1:00 p.m. who did not have an opportunity to comment. Before the start of the hearing, the Department of Health may limit the time allotted for each person providing oral testimony, as reasonably necessary to conclude the hearing in the time provided.

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation to participate in this process, please contact Nicole Lebo by electronic mail at nicole.lebo@alaska.gov

or by telephone at (907) 727-1302 not later than October 15, 2025, to ensure that any necessary accommodation can be provided.

Please note that input provided in response to this solicitation will be subject to inspection, copying, and distribution as public records under AS 40.25.110 – 40.25.220.  Please do not include any confidential information in written or oral comments.

Questions. For questions or more information, contact our Agency Regulatory Liaison, Triptaa Surve at triptaa.surve@alaska.gov .

The Department of Health is not currently proposing any specific regulation change, and there are no draft regulations prepared for public comment under the Administrative Procedure Act at this time. If the Department of Health undertakes revisions to these regulations, there will be an additional opportunity to comment on the proposed regulation changes that are released for public review and comment under the Administrative Procedure Act.

The Department of Health, Office of Rate Review, keeps a list of individuals and organizations interested in its regulations. Those on the list will automatically be sent a copy of all the Department of Health, Office of Rate Review’s notices of proposed regulation changes. To be added to or removed from the list, send a request to the Department of Health, Office of Rate Review, at nicole.lebo@alaska.gov, giving your name and either your e-mail address or mailing address, as you prefer for receiving notices.

Individuals can also sign up to receive automated notifications of all State of Alaska notices, including public notice for regulation changes, by subscribing to the Alaska Online Public Notices System: https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Default.aspx