Alaska Health Study Guide

Alaska’s health law is short, unusually plain, and it says “no” to two things national prep expects you to say “yes” to. There is no split between paper and electronic claim deadlines, and there is no advisory external review — the reviewer’s decision binds the insurer. Those two facts, plus the long-term care training rules, carry most of the Alaska-specific points on this exam.

Prompt payment — one clock for everything

A clean claim must be paid within 30 calendar days (AS 21.36.495(a)). That is the whole rule. Alaska draws no distinction between electronically submitted and paper claims — the same 30 days applies to both — which is where candidates trained on the common 30-electronic/45-paper pattern lose a mark.

If the insurer needs more information, it must say so within the 30 days, and then pay within 15 days of receiving what it asked for. Late payment carries 15% annual interest, accruing from the day after notice was due until the claim is paid (AS 21.36.495(c), (d)).

External review — the reviewer decides, not the plan

Alaska runs its own state external review process rather than deferring to the federal fallback (AS 21.07.005; 3 AAC 28.966). The Division assigns a registered independent review organization on rotation, and the IRO’s decision is binding on the health care insurer, except to the extent the insurer has other remedies available under state law.

Free looks — 30 days on the senior products

Health-side free looks are longer than the life-side 10 days. Long-term care carries 30 days (AS 21.53.050(a)) and Medicare supplement carries 30 days (3 AAC 28.490(e)). Both are unusually generous relative to the ordinary policy free look and both are reliably tested.

Long-term care — the producer’s own training clock

This is a producer obligation, not a carrier one, and it has two halves that candidates routinely split apart. Under AS 21.53.066 you must complete an initial certification of at least eight credit hours before you sell long-term care in Alaska, and then at least four credit hours every 24 months thereafter. The ongoing half runs on its own 24-month clock, which is not the same thing as your two-year license cycle — a subtle trap, and a real-world compliance failure as well as an exam one.

Public programs and the market’s shape

Alaska expanded Medicaid effective 1 September 2015, by executive action, becoming the 29th state to do so; the program is administered by the Alaska Department of Health. The state’s CHIP program is Denali KidCare. Alaska uses the federal marketplace at healthcare.gov — there is no state-based exchange. Federal COBRA applies at 20 or more employees, and Alaska adds no mini-COBRA for smaller employers, so a question about an eighteen-employee firm has no state continuation answer hiding behind it.

One naming note

Senate Bill 132 took effect on 1 January 2026 and renamed this line of authority. The Division now refers to it as Accident, Health and Sickness, NIPR lists it as “Accident & Health or Sickness,” and Pearson VUE’s content outlines still print “Accident & Health.” All three describe the same license. Do not let a mismatched label on a screen convince you that you have selected the wrong line.