Insurance & Commerce Senate and House and Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace Oversight

I can can you hear me. When Roger you. Meeting come to order. Thank you everyone for being here this morning if you would take your seat if you have any conversations in to continue please take amounts but we do thank you for being here I know some of you get caught in the rain right at the last minute so sorry about that may be a drought pretty quick we've got a packed agenda today and so we want to get right to it I do want to recognize my coach here in the vesting committees that are here with this and so on recognize right now chairman mark Lowery of house insurer to convert if commerce if he has any comments thank you Senator Rapert on I just want to thank you so much for pulling this meeting together I mean. I know we're all always used to in politics and government to the there being. Misinterpretations and miss communications and misperceptions but I don't know that I've ever seen anything where there's so much communication on a daily basis daily updates from the White House daily at updates from the governor's office and yet there's so much confusion and it's something that viscerally affects all of our constituents and I know we're getting calls on it so hopefully we'll be able to shed some light on some issues today and I appreciate very much you putting this these items on our agenda in in getting us here on this rainy morning to hear this hopefully sunshine will repel the rain and also all the miscommunication so thank you very much thank you very much Senator hammer I think I see you down there center hammer's co chair of the ALC Arkansas health insurance marketplace oversight subcommittee which we will have an update on that later Senator hammer. You're recognized thank you Mr chair. Happy to be here let's go. represent Ferguson do you have any comments. I just wanted thank you for allowing us to meet jointly I I the course last year with the very busy year for the exchange for making the transition to the health department but I think that's been successful and really most of the data now is relevant for the church committee as well so I appreciate you allowing us to meet together all right thank you very much with that all I will say is we do have a full agenda and I appreciate each of the departments we have a department of insurance here today we have secretary Preston I believe secretary Romero maybe here's what else we have do have a full agenda this is the first time that the joint house and and Senate insurance and commerce committee is met since February right when things begin done full was so there's a lot of information that we've been assessing through other means but it's time for the committee to come back together and begin to talk about some of the issues that we need to begin to take action on with that the first order of business that we have is consideration approve the February twenty nineteen to twenty twenty meeting minutes to have a motion. I have a motion I have a second. I have a second all those in favor say aye all opposed no thank you very much and the first item of business that we have DO appreciate secretary pressed and FOR being with this this morning he's going to give us an update about any issues affecting commerce obviously through his department in his area of authority is so secretary Preston we appreciate you being with us and be entered happy to entertain your comments at this time. Well thank you chairman RAPERT I hope everyone in the first everyone hear me okay Senator yes Sir. Okay well thank you for and indulging me allow me to do this remotely I'm down in the next in the parking lot of children's hospital in Dallas of the plan for my son's my wife and under in the. White men and I came back out here to the parking lot and I'm going to do this and hopefully I know you got the active agenda so I'll try to go fairly quickly and I do have judge Stephen portion Alicia Curtis were there in person so if I you have to run or we get going on something else or get disconnected there there to have any follow up if there's additional question A please share that with them and will make sure to get it back to to each of you and as such with such a package and I do want to try to go quickly but with commerce as you all or where it's a very big department now and there's multiple. Agencies the comprised the department that I think we could probably spend an entire committee meeting on each one going through all the the issue that they've had related to cope with nineteen and how we had overcome them and what it meant to. The individual departments. Did you have commissioner McLean there is going to be a little bit more detail about the Arkansas insurance department issues that they've been facing of the commission a plane is ready to G. that up and talk to you all about what's happening so but he is there no kind of read by their issue pretty quickly but just on a a high level obviously we've had the same issues that the most folks had related to a remote work in technology issues but also taught a college advances in figuring out how we adjust and I'm a Kobe to do the things necessary to get the services to the people of Arkansas and I'll go to reach one and then follow up with the economic development the end with the presentation that you have in front of you but first off up on obviously would DWS with that you I issues the I could go through the alphabet soup of all the new programs with the economic development in the ready for business in the bridge loans with the Arkansas development finance authority or rentals just and obviously the regulatory commission commissioner Clinton claim being their banking securities or and the structure departments including they're not action water waste or officer skills development and our new initiative that we've taken on as the department of commerce is the the broadband in judge porches also very intricately involved in that so or some specifics related to that we can certainly interested but first on on the department of workforce services and would certainly at some point I'm sure will have many opportunities in the future to to bring doctor sellers and more people come DWS team and talk in detail about all the issues that we've gone through but just to think where we were in March going into this February all the February unemployment numbers at three point five percent just like in April at ten point eight percent level off a little bit now back down to seven point one percent in the week before Kobe hit we were averaging about eleven hundred. Woman claims per week pretty manageable workload I'm not a lot of pain attention being paid to it and that first half week when we had our first on the case we spike you about ten thousand the following week we had thirty thousand and the subsequent week we had sixty thousand so just be the onslaught of the system that to begin with without dated check all hands on deck to to get right. Then you fast forward to the chairs act that was approved by Congress that required us to start from scratch three brand new of programs including the federal pandemic unemployment compensation at the additional six hundred dollar per week compensation the pandemic unemployment assistance this is the new program for those who were independent contractors gig economy workers self employed that we also had is that a set up and in the federal pandemic unemployment extended benefits program this is extending benefits to those to an expired sometime in that time frame SO three new programs that were set up to the department of workforce services obviously was not without some some hick ups along the way the one a good position now moving forward we're making payments are out to date we paid out one point three billion dollars in the F. P. U. seeing the pandemic unemployment compensation we paid out another seven hundred million dollars and the pandemic unemployment assistance. An additional nineteen million dollars in the pandemic unemployment extended benefits compensation. incensed then we now have a new program that was pastor or signed into law for an executive order by the president for the L. W. eight P. the lost wages assistance program so we've applied and now been approved by FEMA for this program this is going to be instead of the six hundred dollar additional compensation will be a three hundred dollar additional compensation in and it's not through the department of labor now is through FEMA so we are now standing up or for new program in this band them back on top of that we see in the increase of fraudulent activity than fraudulent claims that keeps our team on those to make sure that we're stopping all fraud claims that they come in and we're not paying out proc by doing claims person for much we don't want to pay a fraudulent claims on the backside when we get audited those plans that we do pay out we're gonna have to figure out a way to reimburse so it's of the utmost importance we're not I'm not doing that not paying those claims and I think the checks and balances we have in place and then able to help us stopped on out front today we're down are continue to claims on unemployment down to about forty four thousand in a continued claims on pandemic unemployment assistance is about forty three thousand this is the lowest point that we've been sense about early April when we had those first initial spikes at and then related to the unemployment trust fund we're sitting at a balance of about six hundred and thirty nine million dollars much better position than a lot of state's laws state that already had a borrow against the federal government pro don't need to go in the history of that of what we've been through in Arkansas but we were you know fortunate to be able to to pay that off and we're actually closing in on the cap of one billion dollars this year endemic not yet related to the trust fund we will be in a position at the end of the federal fiscal year that will have some triggers and place a four below seven hundred fifty million dollars threshold and that they will enact those automatic triggers at which will increase the payments on. Unemployment insurance were fairly close to that one of the option is the cares ACT to supplement that I know that something that's still being considered out there based on the two hundred fifty million dollars that aside. So that's where we are high level and on the part of workforce services as related to our our regulatory departments within the. I'm gonna commerce as I mentioned commissioner what what plan to be there to support speak in detail about the insurance department and there's related to security than banking they've been fantastic to figure out how to do remote examinations and being able to have it on that they could not do it in place obviously to the securities without a increased concern about fraud protection investor education making sure we're wrapping up our efforts there to for people to be a larger the good news on our banks in our our financial services sector in state of Arkansas also we're in a great position much better than we were heading into the financial crisis in two thousand eight R. banks or an extremely good shape and I think your bill to to whether an indoor this pandemic and have already made the changes necessary and just a big kudos to our our bankers association and all the banks across Arkansas what they were able to do on the paycheck protection program the CPP through the a small business administration Arkansas fair proportionally very well compared to other state and that's because our banks have such good relationships already with the business is this a personal relationship there we're able to process forty three thousand six hundred loans in the state of Arkansas if you relating to about three point three billion dollars as I said and maybe not number wise that doesn't stack up to the California New York but you look at a proportionate to the number of people number businesses I would perform much better than other states in computer store bankers association or other work on that and I know are bank department will have their hands full as they move forward with the examination and continuing to work thanks it is related to the parchment of finance actually damaged us which your infrastructure agencies within commerce and I really aeronautics and water waste are that you. talking about their fund there are generated through the revenues that are coming into our airports and through the tonnage on the river obviously they saw huge a downturn in the number of people flying both in your commercial airports into our municipal on airports as well the sales tax the revenue that they collect from aviation you'll sales as well deviation sales tax it down significantly I think we're about forty percent behind where we were year to date and the fiscal year so far however I think you think we've seen the bottom back in July the numbers are starting to creep up again good and people back out and flying a little bit although we're not seeing the traffic that we stock prior to the pandemic but people are starting to fly again bill the a commercially and for business purposes so we'll need those numbers that you come back is or are not export and supports are many small airports around the state and the no water ways we actually had a great month is aligned tonnages up actually for July twenty twenty over twenty nineteen I wish that we had the leading issue in twenty nineteen which was impact negatively to our rivers in the fight that was going up and down then so our team was really built to withstand this in the done a good job to overcome that. It is related to the part of finance administration shipping out to our economic development related ads but is supply three million dollars to ten it based right rental assistance we are local housing agencies I made a grant to them in a local housing agencies are met and I was able to assess initially in an example of transformation when For me to workforce services was you know. Struggling to to get the P. way system up and running and we need to have administration fund administrative funds to be able to do that but it was going to be a a number of weeks if not months before we are able to get any funds from the federal government add support for four million dollar loan to the department of workforce services to allow them to go ahead and execute and stand up that P. U. a system US insists on to bin released by the federal government they have been paid back to the good example about departments were able to come together with and commerce and work together. And then I'll broadband and I won't belabor the point here we talked about it quite a bit and other legislation been very instrumental in getting this program up and running we now have a hundred twenty five million dollars the legislature has appropriated with funds coming out of the chairs act to support rural broadband deployment across the state and your date I think we're up to about Stephen there it can give you the exact numbers little over twenty million dollars action you of little north of twenty million dollars eighteen awards and gone out it just a matter of weeks we now have a full pipeline of requests coming and we're reading all those and hopefully you will get all these a broadband funds or before the end of the calendar year specified by the treasury guidelines and that and big thanks to so many legislature specifically senator Irvin senator English and Senator hand drawn represented Meeks Representative shepherd you of lead this effort in the last couple weeks we've been working very closely with that group on and so many legislature been an advocate for this for a number of years legislation that you all pass last session enable this to take place in happened so kudos to everyone legislature who had the the Ford thank you to be able to to put fund in the broadband obviously this pandemic is heightened everybody's response need to it. Never miss it one more time to the this project that you have in front of you and I can't see what's going on there but I assume that that's up on the screen or in your packet and I do want to take you through system some numbers related to economic development where we stand and give me I'm trying to members that should be one you should be on your order to my desk but you go to the first slide you'll see where we were before cove in nineteen based on the labor statistics at three and a half percent unemployment this is the February numbers a labor force of one point three six seven million unemployed employed at one point three one nine million unemployed in the state were four hundred a student forty seven thousand seven hundred seventy nine it was safe to say that point we had more Kansans working than we ever had at any point in history of our state. Today as we were tracking from January twenty fifteen when the governor took office we had a hundred and seven thousand more or can't and working in February of twenty twenty and as of January fifteenth so we've seen over hundred seven thousand jobs created in Arkansas on that time and more people employed. Fast forward to July twenty twenty the most the recent numbers that we have unemployment rate of seven point one percent again we peaked at about ten point eight percent in April we're fortunate to have come down as far as we have as you can see the United States national unemployment rate is ten point two percent so much lower than the national we now about ninety two thousand unemployed or cantons which we no one wants to see and we clearly have work to do to get people back to work but the situation could have been much worse and my notes here somewhere but our research folks within the department of commerce were able to to crunch the numbers and and based on the the governor not issuing a shelter in place in keeping businesses open or keeping majority business obviously there were some. Barber shops and restaurants are closed for number time James hair salon but the vast majority business and they were able to stay open in Arkansas state about another hundred thousand jobs in our state we've actually had some articles written about that and the governor's measured approach and that certainly made an impact and you have more people employed and have been a lot worse position. So I look at what we did with an eighty D. C. and you know our thought was you know what do how do we respond as the apartment is we have our challenges workforce services and getting unemployment now but what can we do to to assess our efforts were immediately impact is an economic development we couldn't travel anymore we can bring people in the state of Arkansas everything was you know at a holding pattern so we shifted to what can we do to get help out to those immediately what can we do to help retain those jobs to keep people employed people keep people feeling state so one of the first actually Congress did before they even pass the care that they allowed available CD G. funds their hide to be freed up in use first codes Pacific reason so we had ten million dollars within our CD BG allotment that we're able to reallocate two twenty seven roll hospitals in the state we may grant awards between two hundred fifty thousand five hundred thousand dollars for economic assistance for operational costs with men supplies and this impacted a total of seven thousand eight hundred and ninety nine are canned working in those twenty seven rural hospitals additionally the governor approved six million dollars from his quick action closing fund and the Attorney General three million dollars up from her consumer education force in front and allowed us to set up we've called the quick action bridge loan program this was you know in parallel with the P. B. P. program that we knew the SBA was getting ready to roll out we knew was going to be a number of weeks before of those funds are going to be available in people needed to fund immediately so we're able to act very quickly and turned this program around and get helped out to those small business this is a time for small businesses across all industries in Arkansas with two to fifty employees to be used as a bridge to get into that PPP alone from the federal government four hundred eighty three businesses and they were able to benefit from this and it resulted in the re. Senate retention of six thousand six hundred and ten jobs is rolled forgivable loans the only requirement under businesses that they maintain their current level of employment and or able to get that about six thousand six hundred and number. What's the care that counts we were able to to kind of shift again we wanted to see how we could leverage of that one point two five billion to assist companies with expenses related to re opening resuming operations and we set up the ready for business grant program and we spent probably or maybe five hours and they'll see together discussing this program so I'm going to all the specifics of it but it was to to assist the social distant thing in PP you the P. the requirements just support businesses who already had very strange then margin and what business is where we were hearing is that they they lacked the the working capital to restock an advertised and we wanted to create a sense of confidence for not only customers and consumers coming back but employees coming back to work continuing to work to make sure that they felt safe and they could if your call the guidelines were put out by the health department and CDC the framers four one thousand dollars for FTP up to one hundred thousand dollar business owner the funds had to be spent between the end of March and the the calendar year specified by the shares act funding and treasury. The legislature appropriated a hundred and forty seven point seven million dollars to this are Johnson scope a bit about ninety four percent of the businesses were fifty employees or fewer so very small businesses twenty five percent went to minority owned businesses thirty three percent once women owned businesses grants were made to companies and all seventy five counties in the total number of companies benefit or eleven thousand four hundred and nine benefiting impacting two hundred twenty five thousand jobs within the state of Arkansas and to date a hundred thirty million dollars has been deployed through that program. And one final one the came up with the loans the developmental disability providers we provided seven point eight million dollars in forgivable loans we structure this very similar to the PPP program this is available to large providers of services to developmentally disabled Easter seals would be an example who are not eligible for assistance to other federal programs I kind of fell into a grey area the preclude them from that so we set up a program similar to that loan to be forgiven in the same way as long as they meet the job retention requirement and as a result about three thousand nine hundred and twenty one jobs impacted through those developmental just A bill the providers in the state that was our immediate response I think that the end of the slide back and I'll just wrap up with saying that. We're excited to be getting back to traditional economic development we had several announcement the last couple of weeks. including the governor of today is over in caraway will be in south Arkansas later this week you a job announcements are we seeing activity P. up tick up we have consultants and CEOs and interest to business is coming back into our state we certainly have an opportunity in front of us because of how would you know that the at the pandemic a response to it has been noted we have a lot of companies calling and talking to us specifically about that obviously with the you know issues in major cities across the country from New York to Minnesota to or again and on the west coast there's a lot more interesting people moving to areas that are not as populated that they feel that they can come to an end have a a business that the can operate and two so this is successful way that supported by the local community and by the state so we have a a great opportunity in front of us to to get more people to move your people are looking to leave the larger cities in the looking for places to call home like Arkansas so we're gonna benefit from that we're going to continue to get very aggressive on our economic recruitment efforts conditionally one working on new strategies and we hope to come the legislature in the coming weeks to talk more about this and how we can Reshef some of our focus especially on international recruitment born direct investment trying to bring some of our critical supplies back into into our state certainly onto our shores and not talk critical supplies and thinking pharmaceutical medical supplies semiconductors technology of those areas have been so you know so critical to our you know our way of life in this pandemic in getting us through it and of relying on those coming from overseas this is certainly a detriment and whatever we can do to bring more back will we're gonna try to do that and certainly want the legislatures input and support for that will be coming up some ideas and and would love to also help shape that and work with the legislature to to gain support and help us on those efforts. All told in this pandemic hit a calmer support department as Floyd deployed two point five billion dollars in our state two are can't and bill employees department workforce services and unemployment benefits the business that will grants programs and this is really helps money to to continue to flow through our economy why would you know big part of why we see our our revenue collections of the the revised projections we sing sales tax collection of and I think if you know commerce to very proud of the work that they've done we certainly have a lot more in front of us can be a long road to get back to where we were but I know the team of their commerce to all the department working together with the support of the legislature support of the governor I know we can get back to where we are so Mister chairman and so I've got a little bit long winded very passion about what we've done and I appreciate you all and building and working with me and allowing me to still get my under this important doctor's appointment and still be with you all this morning so I'll try to take any questions I can in again if not judge fortunately stickers are there we can certainly follow up in more detail afterwards sure Mr secretary we appreciate your efforts and and again we were prepared that you might not be able to be with this in that really respect your work if they can and working to Senate doing it anyway we do hope you have a good appointment with your son there in Texas I do have a couple of people that do you have questions here Senator hammer call you for sure. Thank you Mr chair let me start off first of all with regards the comment you made about existing businesses in about business is coming in the state of sounds like we're having some good feedback your not identifying anything currently in the state that's a deterrent to businesses coming into the Arkansas. Currently at center and I mean. The challenges I think we we still continue to here is where we stack up against our or order states we were recruiting company on on Friday afternoon and there they've got it down to Texas and into Arkansas and and the issue that they're looking at is is our our personal in our corporate income tax I wish that we look at it and try to sell it is the the bigger overall tax picture in your tax burden are coverage actually gonna be much much lower we stack up in the company is coming from California so no matter how you slice it can be less than what they're paying but when you compares to against Texas or Tennessee who don't have the the personal income tax it's still a burden still challenge especially when you're talking you know the the top level management of a company who are you know weighing in what they're where they're gonna be paying taxes and you know they don't have any personal income tax they go to those of other state so the governor I said look we've made a lot of progress thanks to the as for the legislature in the last you know couple legislative session cutting those numbers so that still continues to to be a challenge the other thing is in and I know we're looking at seven point one percent unemployment but um do we have enough people to to fill the jobs that are looking for you know a lot of those numbers are still in the hospitality industry so when you look at you know unemployment or other industries it's much lower so when they're thinking of moving you three to five hundred jobs here they're gonna be able to find the work force so despite as having more workers issue more people on unemployment a work force continues to be an issue I think there's communities around the state you have done a great job center your district in included instilling county with the building the career and technical education center those are all steps in the right direction things that we can point to that or a positive for Arkansas that we have going so I just wanna make sure that we don't you know let our our foot off the gas and and you pull back from any of those initiatives because of covert nineteen because to me if anything we're going. I have more opportunities because of how we handle this and what we have to offer state it would remote remote work becoming so common now you know I think it people are going to look at the quality of life issues and quality of life in Arkansas that is second to none so maybe while you're working for a company based in California you have to fly out there once a month if you're gonna be able to call Arkansas home now and work remotely from that time so these are all things that we're looking at how do we we capture the benefits of those people being here and working here how do we you know after that into we're we're doing an economic development deal so I appreciate the question senator thank you Mr can get one more quick one you can just be everybody be aware we have a tremendously packed agenda so thank you for get to the point thank you Mr of. Oppression with the the US so getting some messages from people are still waiting seven eight nine weeks that were self employed to get their benefits started would you speak specifically to the number the case load of where we are right now and what is being done to clear that back load I know that the fraudulent activities has slowed it down I understand that but you are somebody in the audience that could come for speak to the where we are right now with the number caseloads and how long should be before we can get closer to zero. So yeah that continues to be an issue because we're if they're in that area where they haven't painted because the hold on their claim related to fraud and like I said unfortunately there's gonna be fraudulent claims that are are held up their flak for fraud that or not but in an effort to to be the best towards that we can of of these dollars and not have to you know pay that back funds unnecessarily at the end we have to run every trap that we possibly can so you know I want to say we're about thirty thousand that are in a holding pattern right now and and the way that the flag an additional about fifteen thousand and traditional unemployment that have been flagged and our team is working through those so what we're doing is sending follow up letters to the those that have been flagged for some reason fraud requesting that we set up a appointment time for them to come in to our work force centers around state we've actually set up places closed door workforce centers that except to go in there and we had actually support from multiple departments including a cabinet level secretaries to a volunteer their time to come out in check I the us we have some bring that letter and bring their claim number plan information the photo ID once rebel to verify and who they are who they say they are we can do and and and media list on there account and payment will be made you know what the the next week or whatever that next payment goes out so we're getting through those I think our first round we send out fifteen thousand letters your individuals and set up time for those you just ignored or didn't calm you know we'll we'll send a follow up that's giving us a good indication that you know if they're not willing to come in and claim their funds and it's probably a good chance fraud so we're sending up the the second round of those letters to go out soon we have to have that cleared up but is more you know I think it's going to be an ongoing issue as we get more cleared up there's gonna be more fraudulent activity in as you know myself and doctor shelters and. And the governor have talked about many times this is that a national issue international perhaps even and we are you know coordinating with with law enforcement of the officials on because people are using information obtained fraudulently over we're seeing as far back as twenty years and certain breaches that they're now using that information is all about a numbers game they don't you know care who the person is there the name is there's been a claim filed in the governor's they're just trying to throws many at it is they can be of any of them sticking they get a payment right they take it may they keep moving on so we have to have our guard up this size we can imports and there are those who are were impacted and we're trying our best to get through all those those one get funds in payments out to all. Thank you Mr right think Senator hammer I've got two more questions in and out of obviously respect for the fact that he's down there for an appointment for sun two more questions the real move to the next section of it Representative Bentley leave your next step thank you chairman secretary press in just two very quick questions when you're looking at bringing purchasing supplies Right to American specifically Arkansas have you consider reaching out to Kimberly Clark in Conway this schedule to shut down if we can see they can re re purpose what they're manufacturing there's we can actually get PP or something from from them have you reached out to Kimberly Clark in Conway was my question. Yes. Good to great question at the valuable building and and a great asset that we have is at the state so it's one that we are marketing you know as far as Jim really Clark being the one to do it we haven't really got them to to bite on that but there are certainly other company that are looking at that civility and we we makes a lot of sent the PP I think there's a little hesitation on companies on a specifically on P. B. E. R. masks and gloves and things like that that you know they realized and maybe two years from now there's not gonna be the demand so they're trying to weigh the options of do they want to make a you know what thirty to fifty million dollar capital investment on something that you know the long term might not necessarily be there so it's going to take the right bit but that is a great building great resource there's a lot of talented people there who would be able to to fill those jobs very quickly thank you I appreciate that right my districts appreciate that one quick follow up question is and we're looking at the data that you shown at thank you a great report a short amount of time it looks like Arkansas's during well on our county would you say that we are our economy is in and in a disaster right now are we out of it. But I want the last four was the use would you say that the Arkansas as economies and it's a disaster right now all we added the disaster. You know it's the. If you would have gone back to February in and told me that Hey in where we August that we're at seven point one percent unemployment I would have a heart attack I would never thought that I got to this you know compared to other states and in parts of the country yeah we're very much better but we still have a long way to go I there's a lot of people unemployed there's a lot of businesses out there that are still hurting so I I'd say we're still you know to me in a disaster we've made significant progress but there's still work to be done. Thank you by the way I do second your comments on Kimberly Clark obviously there in my district as well and I would be as you know Sir Mister secretary we made a lot of efforts for Kimberly Clark during that process and if there's any opportunity to do something in the future. Be happy to do that want to recognize at this time I believe is represented Fred Allen. Thank you Mr chairman Mr secretary thank you for being here today you mentioned a few minutes ago that we still have roughly forty five thousand people in the state of Arkansas who has not received unemployment benefits I know you mentioned that those of fraudulent activities taking place. Do you know if some of the other states that have the same problem that we have made it with fraudulent activities and because of fraudulent activities I want to know what is it that you all are doing to make sure that those people get the benefits because of my understand that some of those people have not received in it benefits since March no paycheck and I'll. Yes thank you Representative Allen preset the priest at the question. Yes this is an issue across many states we work very closely with our national organization and and office of the department of labor were on your weekly if not sometimes multiple times a week calls with all of our other associations and yet people are seeing it across the board in in a little bit the big issue on it is brought now I will say some of these the folks have received a payment and then there were there were accounts were flagged for fraud for for whatever reason did I mention we're working through those that's why we sent all the letters to those individuals who are in some type of broad data in asked them to schedule a time to come in so really we're we're waiting a lot of intent to hear back from that there's also this time to a lot of appeals so there's a lot of folks you for whatever reason are going to be denied their unemployment claims they have the ability and the right to appeal that our next you know strain and stress on the system that we're gonna see if there are fuels tribunal so we're starting to see those ones that were denied for whatever reason now start to pile up in our appeals tribunal so that's going to take a further look into further effort and and Dr Childress was there Last week or two weeks ago whenever the legislature met and personnel in peer in an ALC to approve additional position chin up from there who will to step up that appeals tribunal so we're working on it again as I guess of the at the beginning department of workforce services we could probably spend an entire committee hearing not multiple discussing all the the ups and downs that it's been going through and the issues that we face and how we've overcome obstacles and all the new obstacles that we continue to see but they are gold represent of this is to get those funds out to those who can summon cases the men waiting multiple weeks to get payment so we want to get those payments out as as quickly as possible in now we're in the process again of standing out this new LW PA that was issue by the president's executive order so we just got our approval from FEMA on that with the Green Line eight so now we're all all hands on deck to to get that built in to keep those additional funds bone for our economy okay one follow up. And I would do when she gave a brief got it will last one so well my response my anses is it my about my questions brief by the Sam's this long that's to represent about the I was never I was noticing that Mister secretary so we can get you to be brave to but not so. If Representative Allen was very state with that so you. Of the forty five thousand people all those forty five thousand in that fraudulent division well those forty five thousand applicants that they fall in the front of it category because it seems to me that it's hard for me the feminine we have forty five thousand people without benefits in all of the field in that one category so that they all fall in there is is something else that the land the the benefits of these people being paid I is just a yes or no answer. The yes they're all fraudulent they've been flagged for fraud for for some reason okay thank you thank you very much members if you're on the list as I told you I said was gonna take that one last question we've got some people that are presenting that have to be to the meeting so we're going to move on to the next section and with that thank you Mr secretary and a very diligent work appreciate your time and look forward to seeing you back here in the state and if you give a very robust overview I will say that in preparation for the session would very much like to begin hearing from you and your department heads about particular bills that you're interested in taking up in the session if any and so we do thank you for your efforts today thanks for joining us thank you Mr chairman thank you members are really appreciate it. With that I want to get right to Adam ET and this is overview of the current corona virus statistics in Arkansas and contact tracers update and I believe we have two people here with the department of health and also the secretary of health here so sector rumor I don't know where you're at in the room and looks like doctor deal Hey as well if you're here. We love to have you come and take your position and members I thank you for being a patient as we do have several that. Got to be somewhere else so we wanna make sure get him on here. Right. Excuse me staff is some former just a moment. Okay. I want to go ahead and and Recognize both of you doctor Romero or secretary Romero thanks for being here and obviously we have some probably have some questions that we want to ask of you so if you will what you in state your name and who you represent for the record. Thank you senator thank you for inviting me here my name is Jose are from metal I am the US secretary of health and you to answer any questions you might have all right. Dr Elaine. Good morning thank you for inviting us today doctor Jennifer deal Hey state epidemiologist and I'm here to provide brief overview at the statistics our date data regarding corona virus in Arkansas as well as some information about contact tracing current very well you're recognized for any opening comments. Not sure. So I believe most of you may have this handout today. So today I thought it might be a good idea to give an overview of this decision because we have an Arkansas so since the first corona virus case was recognized and March eleventh of two thousand twenty until tomorrow yesterday we had a sixty thousand eight hundred and fifty nine cases of corona virus of those the vast majority have recovered five fifty four thousand four hundred and eight but sadly we've had seven hundred and eighty four deaths and so that leaves us as of yesterday with five hundred and sixty. A five thousand six hundred and sixty four cases so I provided you with this report this is a report this available on the health department website we update it twice a week Mondays and Thursdays this is the report from Thursday it will be updated later today for the current this gives you an overview of our active cases on the first page so as of last Thursday we had five thousand three hundred and forty one active cases in you can see the breakdown between men and women the roughly equal. We have of a forty seven percent who are white with eighteen percent who are black one percent her Pacific Islander and eight percent would be other and about ten percent of our active cases are Latino or Hispanic and then we have various age groups and you can see that the largest age group is the twenty four five three forty four at age group. thirteen percent of our active cases are children and eighteen percent or sixty five and older and then some of the cases of course are in nursing homes either and residents are workers and some are in correctional facilities either the staff or the in may. And this is just current this is just a current active yes the case of a current active cases but it gives you a overall feel for the situation in Arkansas one what what is it like for these people you know how many of this and different categories and that gives you an overview of the type of people that the corona viruses affecting. The next page is some information about the pre move on on on that for instance you know because over half the deaths in the whole country have been you know older nursing home case yes so when you when you look at that I don't want I don't wanna misinterpretation here because it you know the current situation you're showing one percent in the nursing home so do you happen to remember maybe what the percentages been of all of our cases. There were actually nursing home related to do you happen to know that number remember that number I may be able to find that Let me see if I have it with me. So of nursing home residents that we've had so far there's been two thousand and eighty two and staff in nursing homes has been one thousand three hundred and ninety six. Course would have to do some figuring to get the percentage of that but obviously significant right yes okay. Thank you. Proceed I'm sorry I just wanna make that point because I didn't want to give anybody the indication that for some reason we had very low instances compared to others. Yes I understand. Of the next page we're talking about the people who have died from covert nineteen so you can see that we have had more men than women die as well as an increase percentage of our black and other minority populations including Pacific islanders and then are Latino population then you can see the age group and so senator RAPERT you can see the sixty five and older have carried the brunt of this seventy two percent of the deaths have been among persons who are sixty five and older. I just have to ask this question because this is the first time that I've seen this on a report like this. Since when did we add in the state of Arkansas trans gender is a six category. I don't know the history on that and we try to follow some of the federal guidelines so that we can keep things standardized and comparable with other states. I would like you follow up with my committee on that at some point because I'm just I don't wanna get off into a ditch with that particular issue today but honestly male or female is really the only six categories that there are and so I appreciate you getting back with me because I think that's just that's just interesting I don't know if you just started adopting that I think that we are to be very specific in our state on how we're going to handle that so I appreciate you get back with me in the future I'll be happy to do that all right the next page were looking at places that the people who've been diagnosed have been and the fourteen days before they were diagnosed where they may have been exposed and so we have course a variety of answers many people will get have gone to several of these places and just because they were there doesn't mean that's where they got it but we want to let people know that we are tracking restaurants bars barber shops churches daycare dams and other facility such as hotels motels and stores. Okay all right and then we do look for occupational clusters and so this is a report with five or more active cases and of their location and then you can see that currently some of these places have active cases but they've had some others that have recovered so there's maybe a an ongoing outbreak so some people will be new cases and other people will have recovered so you can see the overall numbers there in these locations. And then finally there we've had a large number and of cases in poultry businesses poultry businesses are doing very well right now they've made a number of changes and their operations so right now we just have a hundred and twenty nine active cases and poultry. But we've had close to five thousand cases okay. And then the next two pages of we have some maps that may be of interest to you just to give you an overview of where at the active cases are and where what counties have a higher number of active cases we also have provided you there with that map of nursing homes where they are located and their active cases and that then the final one was our Latino population what's been very heavily hit with covert nineteen and where most of those cases are so this is an example of one of several reports that's available on the health department website and as I mentioned it's updated twice a week and we should have an update of this one later today okay. Any further comments before we get into questions. I I don't have any further comments I did prepare a little bit more about contact tracing but if that interest you or I do not have to present that I think it would be good okay. All right so Just by provide a frame of reference when the health department is notified of and positive test a new case then one of our case investigators contacts the new case and interviews them to determine when their period of infectious nis was and they work with them to learn what they need to do to isolate and Make sure that they're able to get what they need while they're isolating. And provide them with other. Education they may need and then the case is turned over to a contact tracer and they work with the case to make sure that all of the people that they could have exposed in terms of close contacts at during their infectious period are identified those people are contacted informed in their exposure and of informed that they need to quarantine and then they would need to quarantine for fourteen days then They are also monitored and so we have engaged to companies to assist the health department with contact tracing they are General Dynamics information technologies and Arkansas foundation for medical care and and they are ramping up and they have contracts to have as many as three hundred and fifty contact tracers each up right now there and General Dynamics has two hundred eighty three contact tracers and a F. M. C. has three hundred and two so we are making good progress in developing our capacity to address contact tracing in Arkansas. We got several questions are going to be coming up in due to the nature of some of the issues that we're dealing with the misinformation that we have a more actually swear both of you in for the rest of the testimony if you would stand for me and you take your oath. And for the for the purposes the record in which you to state will start with you sector Romero just state your name your poor your position. I and decision secretary of health care if you would please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Okay same for you doctor delay. A state your name again for the record I'm doctor Jennifer Delahaye state epidemiologist J. do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I do so thank you very much you may be seated we do have several people in queue for you for questions I do have some some questions specifically on some of the contract tracing when asked about that but I like to let our members ask questions and go so the first one I have is represented Mary Bentley you're recognized. Thank you chairman a sector Romero or doctor deal Hey can you when we look at the death rate of the sixty five and older can you tell me how many of those deaths Warner we're nursing home patients or assisted living do we know that. we do know that I don't know if I can pull that up quickly but we did get that to me later and I'm sure it's a large percentage but I'm just curious of the seven two percent how many were nursing home residents or assisted living sure way detract that if we get that to the chairman then we can get than ever with the committee can get it okay sure my second question is what directors were given by your department to the medical directors at the nursing home in regards to the use of I. toxic Clerk one as a prophylactic treatment what directives or regulations or recommendations from your department went to the medical directors at the nursing homes. So to my knowledge no directives were given we did issue advice on our website regarding the use of hydroxy Clerk when but no specific directive was issued to the missing on director so you didn't tell nursing home directors that they gave their patients or the residents had doctor Clerk when that they were not to go into the to the hospital because I was told when I asked that question that you they were recommendations by your department if they gave the residents hydroxy cloak when that they should have the residents in the hospital for that treatment no ma'am that is not my recommend don't recommendation that I gave our guidance document are the only recommendations that have been issued okay want one final question thank you how many confirmed deaths have we had in Arkansas douche to the side effects of hydroxy Clerk when given for Kobe nineteen treatments I don't have that information do you know did you of any at all I don't have that information. Dr deal Hey do you have that information at all. No A does not I appreciate you guys to check into that to see if we have any confirmed asset all things a port for us to know if we have a confirmed as in the state at all due to the treatment of adoption cloakroom given to patients for Kobe nineteen we can look at that thank you that's all my questions chairman thank you yeah I wanna follow up that doctor Mero you and you answer question because it is you know you spoke with me at literally while I was in the hospital with pneumonia and covert and and I had ask when I entered the hospital that I could have the treatment with hydroxy Cork one and I told you that I was advised they said they couldn't do that now that was obviously at some might not working for you right in working for another facility and they were speaking only from themselves at the time but I ask you about that and you stated to me that you have not issued any directive guidance or told anyone that they should not use hydroxy Cork when and treatment is that true that is correct okay and you stand by that yes Sir that you've never stole someone that you've never written to someone that they should not use hydroxy court. What I have written has been the recommendations by the health department and that is that we do not that at we do not recommend it we do not prescribe we do not prevent someone from using it but the recommendations stand and those of the recommendations that I have issued it in any communication that I've had. Okay. all right then that your answer represented version you're recognized. Thank you Mr chairman I actually had a different issues question of advice on the agenda you were going to operate immunizations and I was in a listen to a medical meeting yesterday and they were talking about all of the immunizations that are being developed evidently required date freezing is in that just it will be a difficult distribution process because most doctors offices people giving the musicians don't have the capacity to free stuff Y. below freezing and also they talked about the raw material shortage for files that there there's a raw material shortage and that getting the files will be difficult to teen you just to days a little bit on what the CDC's doing what you all are doing in terms of preparing for by vaccine distribution yes represent thank you very much so and by way of background I'd like to let the committee know that I am the chairman of the advisory committee on immunization practices for the CDC in the United States that committee makes all recommendations regarding the use of license vaccine in this country. That back to that organization has been in existence for nearly sixty years it determines the use of all vaccines adult and children throughout the United States wow that committee focuses exclusively on the United States it also has impact on worldwide use of vaccines because many committees like ours and other countries look towards us our looks to us rather to make recommendations so to answer your question there are currently a number of vaccines eight are in the pipeline at this time there's over two hundred vaccines worldwide that are being looked at two are already in use one is produced in China and being used in their military and another one was produced in Russia and is currently being used. We are in the process we the United States are in the process of evaluating several candidates these candidates have different storage requirements I believe what you're referring to is a vaccine. That has an ultra low storage a requirement and by ultra low I'm referring to and minus seventy degrees minus twenty is commonly found in most of our refrigerators can handle that but they do need to be of of a certain caliber in order to handle that minus seventy degree freezers are generally found in research institutions they're used to store called store proteins samples because at that temperature the degradation of whatever is stored in there is slowed significantly so in the case of the vaccine in question it requires ultra low temperature storage it is viable for only a finite period of time and has to be transported in racks that maintain the temperature once it is thawed it is viable only for a few days and those PO's logistic and administrative difficulties at the Advisory committee on immunization practices the ACIP had a meeting last week it's a public meeting in which this was discussed and issues were brought up by myself and others regarding the distribution of that back scene in states like ours which has a very large rural population. The ability to transport that backseat out into the computer community and the ability to make that commute that backseat available to our essential workers will be a challenge. There's a second vaccine that requires minus twenty minus twenty storage and we think we can deal with that more and that is because our local health units can deal with that we are in a unique situation in that unlike many states we have a centralized healthcare public health system with local health units located in all of the counties in our state and those concerned we think as points of trans for of that vaccine if the vaccine comes to the health department now let me clarify that at this point it is not clear whether we will be the central sort sort of distribution for any vaccine. and the federal government has contracted with a company called McKesson McKesson is a distributor vaccine and is a well known distributor to our health department FOR vaccines for children. So there are some issues involved with that but we think we can deal with that get that out more so in a nutshell One of the important issues for vaccine distribution in the near future will be the issue offer cold storage and we are at this time uh planning for that so we have been asked to begin what's called micro planning for this back scene for the vaccines this will be bonafide over time as we have more information and I will turn it over to Dr deal Hey because I've charge for with that planning and you will give you an update of where we are today it is just a really in this nation see. Well I can say briefly that we've been gun with a planning committee at the health department and we're working with our federal funders the CDC they are doing pilots with five states not Arkansas to develop a template for plan and we will need to have that plan in place by October one. Yes I'm sorry so I was not informed that the ACIP meeting that there was a shortage of raw materials I know that the vaccine allocation projections have been modified downward it but I did not know of that so I I'm forgive me for not knowing I can look into that if you wish. All right thank you for sin Senator hammer will recognize you sure you're next on the list thank you Mr chair with regards to first of all contact tracing how do you decide which category to put someone in when the person has been to multiple settings in the fourteen days prior to the diagnosis. Of you mean in terms of the restaurant the list on my wrist shops on our yeah the on the on the page three yes they could be in multiple categories they're not mutually exclusive. Okay and I'm being a little defensive because you got churches at four percent and I know of one particular case involving church up in Cabot where the person have been to multiple locations so I'm just wondering how is it would it would it not be a more accurate depiction that if that person had been at the barber shop on Saturday church on Sunday drop the kid off at daycare center on Monday then went to the gym and work out on Monday night that you would spread it out over all four points of contact to Senate just settling in and to one. Well they would be listed in all those groups okay so. So one person. That would been to church daycare Jammin health wellness is gonna be represented in the two hundred the twenty seven to twenty two and one oh nine yes. Okay let me think on that and come back to my bill do off line on that one okay the number of recovered. How many of those that are in the re the total number recover nothing was like fifty four thousand or something like that were hospitalized. So I can tell you that the total number that I have for ever hospitalized is four thousand one hundred and eighty two. Unfortunately not all of those recovered I don't know the break out some of those would have passed away. At that four thousand one hundred eighty two all right but of the of the total sixty thousand eight hundred fifty nine cases we've had four thousand one hundred and eighty two actually were hospital actually hospitalized right yes Sir but we don't know the total number of deaths out of those. That were hospitalized homemade hi eight died the work that is not part of this report court we can pull that information if you would like to have that. But I'd like to get that okay and then the last thing I guess would be this has the health and FOR has the health department. Influence any carriers private or public for insurance reimbursement purposes to not reimbursed for the use of hunter clocks I can't say a word when associate with cove it. To my knowledge we have not. So if it's a show for private carrier Medicaid has chosen not to reimburse if that's the choice of treatment of a physician or even the individual of there's been no influenced by the health department to say no you shouldn't be reimbursing for that because it's not recognize treatment. I have not issued such a written recommendation okay thank you thank you Mr okay. Up Dr Marana I think that you have to go to another meeting is coming up here maybe eleven fifteen or something like that yes Sir thank you okay so I want to I want to cover something with you while you're here courses just ask you to testify about whether or not that the department of health review specifically had ever tell someone not to use hydroxy Cork when in your role you said that you had not not to my knowledge rubric or recollection okay well I do want to give you an opportunity to respond to this do you recognize doctor Sandra young yes okay she's actually on the list to testify here just a few moments on June the twenty first twenty twenty at twelve thirty nine PM you responded to Dr young she actually was a staff position at the Conway human development center you recognize that that is correct okay she had written to you that I'm summarizing and of course I've got the email she had written to you encouraging that to try to prevent the spread of covert nineteen at the Conway human development center the she recommended the use of hydroxy Cork when does that ring a bell for you I have to look at the email if if to be exact but I if you have in front of you I take your word for it K. you responded very briefly this is exactly what you responded you actually copy doctor Naismith on this June twenty first twenty twenty you said dear Dr young thank you very much for taking the time to research this aspect of code nineteen care as you know the Arkansas department of health is updated its guidance regarding the use of hydroxy court when and court the newest guidance points out that the FDA has rescinded it's easy you a that would be the emergency approval for these drugs and use therapy of covert nineteen well it may be argued that prophylaxis is not truly therapy eighty H. considers it to be within the same scope therefore eighty H. cannot endorse. The use of this medication for the use of therapy and covert nineteen patients. That to me would be stating we're not going to use it. Eighty eight you go further and I'm about to finish although the dose of hydroxy Cork one for prophylaxis may be less than that used for therapy no clinical trials have been conducted to show that a lower dose is associated with fewer or no complications in patients with covert nineteen who receive it I believe that until clinical trials with a combination of hydroxy quirk when and zinc have been conducted and show efficacy I cannot recommend or endorse its use for patients and staff at the Conway development center warm regards Dr Jose Romero chief medical officer Arkansas department of health. Do you recognize that Sir if it's a written that is what I said okay does that not say that you're not recommending the use of hydroxy Cork one it does not. Okay will help interpret I I'm simply saying that is that we don't endorse it you may use it but we are not in favor of its use nor will we recommended seeks we've never not set that is the health department and I is a physician I have never told another person not to use the drug if they're under the care of a physician. Our recommendations have always have always stated you should not use we acknowledge that medications can be used by physicians as they see appropriate for their patience with the discussion and consent of the patient. As it relates the Conway human development center which is in my district and I spent a great deal of time advocating for those people in that facility working with their parents working with the people that care for the facility and this legislature spent a lot of time there as well. you do realize that this communication between you and doctor young resulted in her resigning from her position because she was but she took it as a Statement that you are not going to let her utilize hydroxy Cork when for the patients that come with human development center no I did not know that and I don't see why it would have caused her to resign so you did not know that she quit her position I didn't learn that until last week but I didn't know it had anything to do with my letter and it that letter didn't know where that email in no way should have prompted her to quit. Okay. So and and and I believe as you know I have issued a for your request several days ago which your department still working on to produce documentation for me I just so happen and I have that one and so. I will be honest with you Sir I think that that does say though it was for bos that it was saying you cannot use it. You basically was making an impediment for her as a physician to be able to state that she wanted to utilize this for those patients. As a license for this position in the state of Arkansas she has the right to use medications off label. We do not and did not prevent her from using the medication we did not endorse it which is that we do not agree that it is appropriate nor did we recommend. Nor did not. I did not say that you should not use forgetting for talking over you you you held an additional position it Conway human development center correct I am the infection prevention position infectious disease position so in in that situation you actually have authority over what might be done in that facility correct I do not I simply make recommendations so no other physician asked me about that she is not the chief of staff that is her decision to use or not to use there are many other physicians in that institution. None came to me requesting the same. There was no meeting we have monthly meetings that was not brought up in a monthly meeting this was her. Request she further which I'm sure you will. Find out about from her. That she further came up to me after board of health meeting and again asked the same during that meeting witness by my chief of staff I explained to her that she was free to use the medication off label I explained to her that under Arkansas medical. Provisions she may use any medication she wishes off label provided that it is a discussion with her patient so at at no time have I told her that she cannot use that medication. Well it seems to me that that was pretty clear if I was in a position where you had a supervisory role and I had just sent you a long draught telling you that you recommended this and wanted to see about the possibility of using it to try to help patients from contracting cove ID and you get that response now obviously you can say. Whatever you want at this point but I can see where that was taking it but it was such a a negative response from her opinion my understanding is she quit now you you're going to be leaving so I brought this up for you now so that you could at least respond to it in some way unfortunately unless you decide to return you may not hear her testimony that obviously we will be here for a little while longer so how long your meeting is going to be but you know the the situation at the Conway human development center Dr Romero is that those patients many of them there in your care. Your there. Their guardians you know your guardians for them basically at the Conway human development center. So what if she had decided to utilize however could hydroxy Cork when for a patient that is unable to speak. Just to try to prevent that. What would you have done. I would have not done nothing is her prerogative to do so I do not have a supervisory committee role in there no to what is so I want to correct that I am a consultant I provide advice to the body of physicians. Regarding issues of infection control immunization. And other issues that they have. So my wrecked my my recommendation would have been not to use it but if she wishes to use it so be it. Well I'm just gonna state and obviously you could pull up your own email because you wrote this to her or we can give you a copy of it but you stated very clearly eighty H. cannot endorse the use of the medication for the use of therapy in covert nineteen patients. I think that is actually In my opinion a statement stating that you won't use it now you can split the hairs if you want to but it got to the point that you had a doctor that resigned her position I don't think she I I don't know the reason she resigned I won't question her reason for resigning but I can tell you that that is not a reason to resign I don't know if there are other underlying issues that surround her employment but an endorsement not offering an endorsement doesn't mean you do not use something when you all I'm all I'm going on record in that email is saying that eighty H. cannot or does not. Recommend the use of this medication in their patients and it should not be used that's the wording that we say in our in our if I'd is advice that is issued so I'm sorry that I'm sorry that that Dr young felt that way but again we have we ate we met afterwards and I tell and I told her then that she could use this medication so she knows that she can use this I don't understand what why she resigned. Okay. Any further comments on that I'm sure you have an opportunity to follow up on it my email states as but it's states and it is not an endorsement we don't endorse the drug um physicians have the right to use this truck off label if they wish Sir are you aware of some of the instances around the country were what they have seen actual results were it is help people. I'm I've heard reports of it now add to I also wish to make one comment about the the the the Connelly helped you in development center so I carry much for those patients. I've tour their their facilities I've offered care. I've followed the outbreak that has occurred there. You are aware of course or that no one has died from code. Without therapy. So administration well there peer they giving in there I have no idea that is that is an internal decision so they are not using hydroxy Clark one. And. To date there been no deaths as a result of its non use. So I think that that should also be born in line. I care deeply for them. Now they are they I am a consultant to the institution and I provide the best care possible. Well it's interesting that you say you don't know what they're doing there but you know they're not using Hydroxycut work with well I assume they're not but if they are the again the issue is that they think you're sending their not because you gave the clear message they should not. I am not okay all right. anything further on that at this time no thank you very much Sir okay I'm gonna move on there's a huge list of questions you have to leave at eleven fifteen so we're gonna try to get through these best that we can thank you senator next one is Representative Fortner. Thank you First off I just like to that I'm over here thank you Sir. I'd like to make a statement about why I am asking these questions They There. Fair and Despair are driving the comments that I'm getting from my constituents of late and I think that's probably common to everybody it's not just unique to my district but I would like clarification on a couple and I I so appreciate you bringing this I really do this information is going to be very useful it will help me. But on the second page at the death page if you will. Could you just answer me a couple basic questions and if you don't have the numbers in front of you would you get them to me. Up. How many deaths a year are attributed to the flu in an in Arkansas in a normal year just rough. Probably about a hundred okay. And then of the total seven hundred forty six on this sheet I thank you mentioned at seven eighty four. Current Do you have a number how many of those were diagnosed with a terminal illness before they contacted coal that nineteen. Rough I don't have that number I know some of them would have been would you say in order. I I wouldn't hazard a guess could you get that sure I'd appreciate that and the other thing to do you know. How many of the death list here. Was directly related to call that nineteen and not indirectly like perhaps they. Had been diagnosed with COPD nineteen and got in a motorcycle accident and were killed. So all of them if the dexter tech it was filled out properly should have had code nineteen as an underlying calls or significant contribution to the death if it was something like a motorcycle accident were cove in nineteen was not underlying cause of death or did not significantly contribute should not have been listed on the death certificate and would not be in this number. Your sure yes. That's the standard way of filling out death certificates. Would there be any motivation for anyone to. Listed as a covert nineteen death because I know of a personal. Well and the person who fills out the death certificate is the person who pronounces death usually it would be the doctor who took care of a person if they died in the hospital or a corner or it could be a nurse he works for a hospice so whether any of them would have motivation individually to Falsified the death certificate then hi I couldn't say. Okay so you can you can give me an insurance that the number seven forty six seven eighty whatever it is. Those are all. Directly would not have died. And passed away from covert nineteen in Arkansas. So there is a significant. A category on the death certificate certificate that is a consecutive it can't contributory factor so for example if someone is on hospice and they have pancreatic cancer. And they got cove it and they died of they died more quickly than they would have if they hadn't had code but then that would be listed as a significant contribution a contributory factor and that still would be listed as a copay death okay so that would be a covered at all right well thank you I appreciate your honesty and frankness if you'll get those other numbers for me and then on to what. Senator hammer made the comment about four percent were in churches in three percent or in restaurants. that touches close to home because I go to church every Sunday then I go eat. But there are a whole bunch of us they go to church and go eat and there's not as many of us go to a GM. So I think if you take that balance that numbers might be skewed just a bit thank you for coming. Thank you represent Fortner co chairman. Representative Lowery. Thank you Mr chairman. Doctrine Meryl I I don't. One overly belabor the conversation that took place about the hydroxy Clerk when but I am concerned about. And this was really what I prefaced in my comments when we started the meeting at that there just seems to be a lot of uh mixed messages any time the question has been asked to maybe it was just asked one time during the governor's Updates was asked about hydroxy Clark when the questioner was referred to the department of health's Statement. And clearly it the implication was if it were not cleared clearly stated it was at least implied that there's nothing in the director of the department of health's memo or directive. That invalidates or says that hydroxy Clark when can't you be use. You stated in this letter that was referenced in this email that the department of health cannot recommend or endorse. Now. How can that be it you know it is it just sounds a lot like a discussion of depends on what the meaning of is is. I cannot recommend or endorse. When someone is asking very specifically for direction that does sound like a directive to not use and I I just want to give you one more chance to try and clarify for us how that cannot be taken as a mandate or as a some very strong directive to not use the treatment. It is. It is not a strong recommendation so as a practicing physician and ID physician. I was asked many times about treatment wide versus treatment axe. I couldn't recommend treatment why. And I recommended treatment acts we don't recommend that that doesn't mean that a person can't use it there's not a problem that is not the the the treatment that I would recommend an endorsement is a statement in which you totally back to use at least that's how I and was taught one endorsement was was you back to the the use of that particular truck. Okay so we don't endorse that drug we leave it up to the physician to make a decision. Again I would refer you when you you are correct by Representative Lowery that our recommendations have always been should not use not do not use nor in any way have we said not to use it my recommendations verbally and in personal communications have all been in the same line that is I do not recommend that it be used right I mean it should not be used I don't recommend it and I don't endorse. But the physician has the right. Under law to use the medication off label if he and his patient feel it's appropriate we have never stopped a prescription from going through. In a previous vocation I coached debate and argumentation at the university of central Arkansas and I have been a debate rounds where the whole debate was over the what the meaning of the word should was whether should was a mandate or whether it was a recommendation. How would a physician who's asking for directive. Know whether that statement of should is a recommendation as opposed to a mandate. Or should not. At I would certainly take it as a as a. Statement in which you would not use it that we will not wrecked we would not recommend it but that they can use it again I I I I I'm not sure whether that I I'm not a debate person I mean I I I've tried debate in in in high school and left after two years because it was not something that I could do well so I'm not going to debate the word what I can tell it what I can say is that. The recommendation that is issued right is to leave this up to the individual physician we in no way we the Arkansas department of health. In no way stopped physicians from using this. My last question on this would be to ask you if you were recommending if it were something that you felt like was did have efficacy what would be the language that you would use in the set and approving that if you were asked for your opinion or your directive so my personal opinion is different from the opinion offered by the health department spine I wanted I just wanna hear the health department statement if it were if there were a recommendation for approval what would be the language that would be used to say yes we would state clearly that it is recommended for use okay so the inverse of that is to say it is and and you said this we do not recommend that's correct so how is that not a statement of saying do not use it we did not say do not use that we do not recommend it and again we use the word should our guidance Senate Representative is the guidance from the FDA and the CDC that is the wording if I remember correctly and and and I. Say that I need to document felony but I do not believe that that our recommendations differed significantly from those of the FDA that is it is not a recommended therapy at this time. All right with thank you very much thank you Mr chair. Well it and I will send that you you've got about five minutes before you have to leave Dr Morrone I'm sorry that you are having to leave that at its state in the times of thank you should be here and I understand you've got conflicts that the and again Dr young's can speak a little bit later the gist of what she stated was a she was imploring to you as the consultant for the Conway human development center. And also the chief medical officer of the Arkansas department of health the she was aware of the treatment regimen which might prevent people from contracting Kopet in a congregate setting where it's the most risk. And if you want just a couple things you're getting ready leave she said she said quote as a preventative I think we could halt more cases at C. H. D. C. among the residents and the staff hydroxy Corcoran has a half life of thirty to fifty day she said at this time and she says by giving hydroxy court when it two hundred milligrams once over one to four weeks and zinc daily individuals can prevent the virus from replicating with that does there would not be any problem with a prolonged QT interval she goes on she basically closes by saying I'd like to see the A. P. R. into CH DC able to prescribe an auction corporan for residents and C. H. the ship provided for the staff either by individual prescription or the actual med medication I'd prefer statement from you. And eighty H. that would make prescribing physicians in Arkansas comfortable with giving it to their patients to cover the staff and pharmacy is willing to fill the prescriptions without this treatment I think we're headed for disaster please consider doing this and then of course you already heard your response. And again you have done very well it splitting hairs a little bit but I think anyone that would be getting an email from somebody in a superior position like that would take that to say I can't do that Sir and I don't know I'd ask you personally myself when I was told this in the hospital someone had given a message that was clearly being received on their end as we can't prescribe this to you when I knew people myself in Conway Arkansas that was in the same hospital that will tell you right now today they were languishing in they were deteriorating and tell they were given hydroxy quirk when. In that turn around. In my case I ended up on room disappear. But this in I ask you for clarity and I took her word for you said I'm sorry they've got confusion they must not get this right and be honest with you this took my breath away I did not realize I was going to see an email from you in June of twenty. That basically it looks to me like you're telling don't do this and again you get out what you're going to be able to look at the email I'm sure will follow up on this Sir but here's the thing is you leave. The whole reason that I put this on the on the table today Dr Romero. The whole reason I put it on the table today. Is because there are countries around the world for their utilizing this and they have much lower death rates than we do. We have now we're hundred eighty thousand people dead in this country. And I do not understand the a version and the resistance to utilizing something went by the way the FDA and CDC have approved nothing. To treat it not even. M. disappear. The emergency approval as you know is not an approval there is no standard approved treatment it's not that not correct. It is approved for use in Covin the I thank you few go read it if I have my lord I didn't think is going to have to read everything back to you here today. It states even room disappears not approve fort I had to sign waivers that I could back. Just to use rim disappears. It is it is it is not an actual approved it is emergency use just like cut rocks A. Clark when was an emergency use that is correct that is correct so what I'm saying is that when we've got in my own in our own state here and I'm gonna let you hear this let you go. I I'm not gonna give you everything that happened with me. But you know I got sick on the seventeenth of July. I went immediately isolated. The eighteenth I went first wall test was given the swab test it took to the twenty first for result to be given. And I I was there and fever for all those days. It was negative when I got the test results. That probably is what I'm. Probably what ended up saying he the hospitals would it could treat quick enough right if we'd known quicker we may have done something to keep me out of here but the twenty second they tell me my lungs were filled with pneumonia and then suddenly all of a sudden with a rapid test I had covert nineteen and I was hospitalized for six days. I was only oxygen. I was getting the shots in my stomach to prevent blood clots from forming in my body. I was put on disappear I was put on dexamethasone I was given everything it's given until you get to a point that you've got a good to vent and I thank god for the people at sea arm see in those a treat me that I didn't have to go there I absolutely do thank them but what I was shocked with this when I got in there and realized I'm going to have treatment and I ask for treatment that I'm to help people in my community. And I'm told. We can't give it to you. And we're in Arkansas where we passed legislation even called right to try. And I'm being given a message so what I'm what I'm saying Sir and I did not know that I was going to find this email. My heart right now is that I want the people of Arkansas and frankly this country. To have access to treatment they can help them. Because we have people that I believe for instance with me and I told you this myself I'm not going to go down the road about the contract trace your situation with me at this particular moment I want to close you can leave. But I'll tell you I am disappointed in a lot of the handling in this country in a way it's filtered down even to this state. And and for me to be told I can't have a treatment. I just think it's wrong however that messaging is getting mixed up and I wanna applaud you because about forty eight hours later after you and I talked you went to the microphone with the governor of the state of Arkansas and tried to make it clear that you had no business saying that a doctor could not recommend that you went and said that if that microphone you cities between a doctor and a patient if they want to use it off label but my problem is is that I have a doctor that's about to testify that say she quit because she thought that you were saying she could use this when she was trying to help prevent the spread income when you may development center I have a doctor in northeast Arkansas that prescribed it to a chiropractor and went to CVS pharmacy and Jones were Arkansas and they said we will not fill your prescription FOR hydroxy core. I have someone it's reached out to me from Harrison Arkansas went to the VA clinic and said that they were given tested positive for for covert nineteen they said I want hydroxy Clerk when and they said we will not give you a prescription I just want to ask you and everyone of you were in a bureaucratic cat in this country why would you not let people take a treatment from a drug that is sixty five years old use every single day for people with lupus use for rheumatoid arthritis wine is there such a block to people using something that is saving people's lives do you know. Well I can offer you some comment if you wish but let me let me go back to your situation Sir. So run tests of year which probably in addition to the hype died the steroid. Out where the two factors that had most to do with your recovery they have clearly been shown to be of benefit. What you may or may not knows or is that run that's severe and I proxy Clark when are antagonistic. The use of hydroxy Clark with impatience at a receiving Mendes of year makes the efficacy of written test of your less effective and that is because it inhibits the antiviral effect either way Dr will interrupt that was a point of discussion before we decided to go with reinvested here so I I just wanna make sure that everyone understands that and I'm so that so that so that thank you Sir so that if you're receiving this and remember. You have it Dr yes stated this clearly it has a long half life it dwells in your body for a long time meaning that that drug is there. If you give it ahead of time and will affect the and US of you now when does your has been ruined it has been so successful that the FDA has re moved restrictions forces so you were in a severe category Sir I mean I'm I'm glad you did well because you were in a severe category receiving oxygen you required in this of your therapy so you would classify and the ends of your group we now can use run this of your in all hospitalized patients that's how strongly the FDA feels about how it can work so we don't wait for someone to become as ill as you did. We use it off the bat so if you're using hydroxy Clark when and you know that from best of year is less effective. Yes do we are careful about its use again I thank you for the opportunity to speak. I stand by what I have said. We have in no way. In the ability of physicians to practice medicine and to maintain that sacred contract between ourselves and our patients. So ink and guessing closure to your your comments I know you now you're over time including in closer your comments are you prepared today to state that physicians in the state of Arkansas are free to prescribe a drug C. Clerk when in hopes that the patients don't get sick enough they end up going to the hospital and needing room disappear. Physicians in this state our free use medications off label if they and their patients think it's appropriate. Including. Hydroxy four one all medications I know of no. Prescription that are medication that is not. All right. Thank you very much and I think doctor delete your prepared answers more these questions he spoke folks have okay do you have anything else and and less your yeah actually can state no Sir I'm just ready to be dismissed your dismissed thank you Sir all right thank you ma'am Irvin if you still have a question you're recognized. Thank you it's okay doctor America you can leave ACT doctor delay can answer thank you and thank you so much for being here thank you for your time go hawks. And bears that thank you appreciate it I am doctor they'll Hey what questions that little bit on a couple different things one is you're aware of the CDC came out and revised some other statistics on the death of cove it and back to represent of foreigners questions you have the ability to basically divide it of the seven hundred and eighty four tests you have the ability to say whether code was a primary source of death or secondary correct. as you stated with the death certificates so the. A council of state and territorial epidemiologists. Defines what consists of the case and there's two kinds of cases a confirmed case and a probable case and so you could have that's in either one so we could potentially break those out a confirmed or probable cases because of it okay the yes I think that's important to know because you know there were some adjustments I think that you saw at the are you aware of those adjustments I haven't tracked that I'll look for okay I think it came in over the weekend but I think that's important information that we might need to know you know if people just dine out right from just cove it without a co morbidity that's very significant I think that needs to be more clear for people and how all deaths are being reported because if and I think. That's really important and these reports this the second thing is are you collecting this information as far as restaurants bars and that's through the contact tracing is that correct it's well I was through the case investigation so when a person is diagnosed with COPD nineteen in their interviewed by the case investigator they try to determine where they have banned the par couple weeks to understand where they may have been exposed and see where the epidemiological linkages are okay but the case the case investigation is a result of contact tracing is that correct now that actually takes place before contact tracing so the case is interviewed by case investigator and then once that interview was completed and now they're ready to follow up with the contacts that that case has that case is turned over to the contact tracer to trace all of those contacts okay are all the case investigations done by the department of health or is that after the contract with General Dynamics and I if MC most of the case investigations are done currently by the Arkansas department of health we have now all case investigators with as part of the contact tracing contracts so those have been added there's about thirty eight I think almost forty ACT case investigators now as part of those contracts we have about and. A hundred and sixty eight case investigators still with the health department approximately. Okay so some might and the reason I'm asking is because I've had several reports from people that are positive that have cove it but they haven't their point of contact has been. Have. What I wanna say have passers but. Not consistent so can you describe to me so somebody get scope it can you describe to me where this comes because how this flows I'm looking for like a flow chart okay because there's a lot of confusion out there because some people are saying well I never got contacted were I've been contacted four times in one day from three different people so I am concerned I want to make sure that these contracts are clearly defined and I want to figure out if you don't have a flow chart you can't minimize the time. Of. Of contact and information gathering in order to prevent more Spratt so again it goes back to understanding this time line and dynamic and the delays of what's happening which is not we're not getting the bang for our Buck and we're spending you know over fifty million dollars on contact tracing that so much of it hinges on test results that are delayed and. The different types of tests that are happening now and not being reported or some may be reported. And case the case management's investigation and then to the contact choices so can you help me just understand all of that well just briefly the health department will receive a report of a positive test stork case and everybody that's testing reports to you is that correct everyone that we know of yes okay so so we get the. Result and the add new case is assigned to the case investigator and they call the patient and interview them regarding various things like we're talking about when where there's wind and their symptoms start to will usually back UP two days because the person can be infectious two days before their symptoms started and to determine the infectious period and then they work to identify where they were or were they at work were they did they go to church did they go to a restaurant in all those different places and think about who they were around and work on the list and then when that interview is finished they are turned over to a contact tracer the contact tracer follows up with them to get the list of their close contacts and then contacts each of those persons to let them know that they have been exposed and to F. inform them of the need to quarantine to that patient provide some with the name and phone number yes if they have it yes if they don't have it will in some cases we may need to work with an employer or school or another entity to identify who okay they would have been around okay so we do track the process we're constantly working to improve it tweak it would it take less time if we did it this way or you made that change are contracts have metrics that they need to follow and since the initiation of the contracts and this they've been ramping up we've been able to complete the cake the contact tracing in a shorter period of time so we look at all of those metrics and we're always looking to improve them so that the process are those yet to. Rick someplace for the northwest council. Of they get should I don't know what they should be I like to know if you issued in the same metrics the same parameters the same request the same expectations for what they're doing. My understanding is the initiative the contract or not it should be standardized in terms of the approach so we're trying to we want all of our the groups that are doing a case investigation or contact pricing to follow the same protocol they have scripts that they use air description be the same so there's an agreement or something or contest there's like to know see that if in writing all right okay I really appreciate it I have other questions but I'll wait this time thank you doctor delay are you able to to wait and let us get some questions maybe toward the end for you as well. Sure okay I think you'll be good to you're going to hear some information that I think would be useful for for everyone members if you got a question I've got you in Q. but I'm gonna move on to these other presenters you can save your questions doctor delay will stay and but we are at a respected time up trying to make this where we can be done all for lunch time we may move into less just a little bit but I need to get this done with that being said thank you your excuse into question time I like to call to the testify force doctor Simone gold And also doctor robin Armstrong I believe I will call you for the for the distancing in the use of the equipment here what you do to come and then I'll have doctor young come up afterwards. We do thank both of you for being here I know that you've traveled from California doctor Armstrong from Texas and you have other duties as well so thank you for your time if you would are custom is if you would please state your name and who you represent or who you're affiliated with for the record and it will recognize you for your testimony. Thank you to push a button there if it's not green push that. Thank you so much my name is doctor Simone gold I'm a board certified emergency physician I'm also Stanford University educated attorney I'm here because I launch an organization called America's frontline doctors which is very concerned about the version of the doctor patient relationship and what we know to be the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans and many the majority of which could have been prevented okay. entre. My name is doctor robin Armstrong in on the physician interment some physician from Texas and I have an experience as a medical director the nursing facility where we treat to some patients with adjusted quickly successfully right thank you doctor gold you're recognized. Thank you so much and I'm just pulling up my notes okay. You know a lot of my discussion will be about hydroxy core question because it's you know as as we saw this morning it's such a hot potato issue one of the reasons I focus on this so much is because I face it directly in the emergency department I faced a situation not unlike what we heard this morning I'm working as an emergency physician and I was prescribing for patient and I was directly told by Matt medical director this is something I should not do you I think his answer would have been similar to what we heard today which is I wasn't exactly telling you absolutely positively you couldn't do it but there's no question that I was told I could do it and that I would be fired if I continue to do that and I'd never been in a position like this in my career where there's medication that works it's FDA approved for sixty five years it's completely non controversial anybody doubts that they simply have to Google hydroxy core Quinn the year before the year twenty twenty will be any discussion of it whatsoever most benign medication one of the most and I medications we have on the planet and all this and I was been told I couldn't use it yet I have a patient front of me who's got shortness of breath fever cough post oxygenation is dropping two got infiltrates on the X. ray and I should give it to her and this was a red line the sand for me as an emergency physician my dad's a doctor and there's. I mean this is just being put into an impossible situation I couldn't comprehend it so of course I prescribing it has to be used with zinc and I was flat out told I'd be fired if I continue to do that which was outrageous and we went on from there and I I kept prescribing it when it was indicated and I kept being told I was gonna be fired and I kept looking for other doctors who were in the similar situation it turns out there's thousands of us online were quite silence were told by our state medical board's it will be for section two told by our medical directors we're gonna be fired we're told by our peers to keep the party line would tell by the federal government that we can get into trouble that what we're doing is is incorrect we hear people testify they're kind of celebrity doctors they're not actually taking care of patients I've been board certified ET for twenty years never seen anything like this you might wonder why a person like me all this and come to the forefront right I'm the doctor you see when you get sick you know you have a car accident copy of a gunshot wound you have a heart attack you could has asthma attack Graham has a stroke you come see me and all of a sudden the government and various famous physician to having opinions about FTA medications I want to press upon you how absolutely bizarre this is we've never been in a situation in our country ever for the government or government bureaucrats state or federal service telling doctors what they can practice it's just simply never happened that should be raising red flags and alarm bells in everyone's mind it doesn't matter who you vote for this is never happened one answer a couple questions that I heard spoken about this morning just in no particular order just how I remembered it there's a question about the death certificates I can't speak directly to Arkansas it's been well documented the death certificates have been inaccurate I refer you to a video done by doctor Scott Jensen was a state senator from Minnesota and it's been very well documented after you documented the the fraudulent nature essentially what's going on with the death certificates again a sweeteners event in medical practice couple months later you could call Quinn since he was sanctioned understand I'm not section he was investigated by his statement. The board you can draw your own conclusions As a practical matter to again just respond is something's I heard here if the medical director of a facility or the ID infectious disease consult an of a facility recommends against using something then you don't use it that's that's I just wanna verify it attest to that as ordered practice of medicine that would be a doctor's experience of it Just a comment by senator Robert about your particular situation I would hope that you would have needed run to severe cannot emphasize enough that the whole point of hydroxy Clark when is to never be in a situation where you might need one disappear the study that came out the children discover helped show that it reduces the length of hospital stay by three days kind of a modest effect it did not reduce mortality at all. That's instruct contrast what we're gonna learn in a few minutes about hydroxy core Quinn I'm also disturbed and distressed when I hear position people in positions of governmental power cannot just directly answer very street for question is can you use are drug court court and the answer that is being put forth is not around sound a strong endorsement of it the kind of a round securities answer the answer should be will do exactly what we've always done before cove it let doctors the doctors let the prescriber they need to prescribe in consultation with the patient and to be very plain simple answer and we never get that and what you remember that as we go through the following before I give you a little bit of specific information I'd like to just reference a something made some people may have seen this was on about a week ago life liberty and live in Sunday evening I he into doctor Harvey rest Dr Harvey Risch is Andy PhD from Yale school of public health he's probably the most famous deputy on epidemiologist in our country very well regarded very well spoken he's actually very measured individual so he has to say is quite astonishing. Some very brief clip thank you very pre. Clin six months ago most of us investors never heard of it if you could increase the volume somewhere that we help face the plan. Force and heroin it's worse than opioids it's worse than anything if you listen to the media. We listen to others. So called scientists. Steve Hatfill is the veteran Kerala just he recently wrote there are now fifty three studies that show positive results hydroxy Clark win in code infections they're fourteen global studies that show neutral or negative results in ten of them were patients in very late stages of covert nineteen were no antiviral drug can be expected to have much effect. Of the remaining four studies to come from the same university Minnesota author the other two are from the faulty presumptive for which should be retracted and the fake lancet paper which was. What is going on here this is very bizarre and then I have this. An article written by Harvey ratio who is a professor of epidemiology Yale school of public health. author of over three hundred peer reviewed publications and he writes in part I'm usually accustomed to advocating for positions within the mainstream of medicine. So I've been flummoxed to find that in the midst of a crisis I am fighting free treatment that the data fully support but which for reasons having nothing to do with a correct understanding of the science has been pushed to the sidelines as results tens of thousands of patients recover nineteen or dying unnecessarily fortunately the situation can be reversed easily and quickly so you read this is a non. Medical expert as a non scientist is a non professor any go. What in the world is going on here the president is promoting it we see some doctors promoting it they're blown off Twitter they're they're they're considered cooks and here we have this this top yell professor who says wait a minute that's not true. Professor rich how are you Sir. I'm good nice to be here the question the question is you've looked I take it all the studies and what do you conclude. The evidence is overwhelming there's no question that in the the people who need to be treated and treated early in house a very substantial benefit in reducing risk of hospitalization and mortality. And there's been a massive disinformation campaign that stretches from governments to the media now it's either suppressing this message for its countering it with a false message Allen's I'm not an expert in the reasons why that's happening other than just observing at but I am an expert in the science and I can tell you the sciences all one sided in fact the sciences so one sided in supporting this result that it's stronger than anything else I've ever studied in my entire career the evidence in favor of I talked to court when benefit in high risk patients treated early as out patients is stronger than anything else I've ever study so scientifically there's no question whatsoever and most of the studies that are cited by the by the government scientists and the media are studies that do not treat patients early in the in the virus is that correct. It's either that the psych studies that are possible as patients or the site studies such as the bill were studies from Minnesota that treatment low risk patients these are people under age sixty with no chronic conditions and so on people who will survive the virus with just on their own without treatment almost entirely and those people they don't know me virtually nobody is hospitalized so there's no room to do better when the people who don't get the medication already doing as best as one could hope. So those are low risk people and we're not talking about treating lower its people we're talking about treating people over sixty or with chronic conditions or base the diabetes and so on those the people who are at risk of being hospitalized and dying from this illness does the people have to be treated and all the studies everyone of the studies that looks at that group of people shown that affect there are no studies and those people that shall lack of benefit doctor entity found he he's been in the government fifty two years he heads the infectious office in the federal government for a very very long time really over three decades. And the one is ask about this going testimony he absolutely blows off hydroxy Clark when he says the sciences the science. Up you tell us the sciences yes he says not has doctor felt you ever call you and ask you your opinion and why you have the opinion that you do. Now. Doctor felt you have in your re now I've I've research on your background of your a renowned expert your one of the top schools in America let me ask you this has the head of the food and drug administration the FDA ever contacted you and ask you about you review of these fair studies. Is not contacted me for that purpose during the time when the FDA was considering a petition for early use authorization an out patients of eye drops the court when that was submitted by the Henry Ford hospital doctors during that time I filed a brief with the FDA demonstrating both the evidence that supports usage and the complete lack of harm the complete lack of any systematic data that the FDA has sent on their website that they don't house just reading what they say on the website shows that they have no data about adverse events in often use in outpatients he responded I sent them this by email as well and spent exit he responded thanking me for the for that that is the only contact I had with them. So none of the heads of these there's a government entities have bothered to consult with you and basically when you go on these various media programs particularly on CNN. They spend most of the time reclaiming their time in interrupting you and making it impossible for you to explain. Thank you doctor going so. I can't emphasize enough that this is a very safe drug the reason I focus on it is because it would single handedly put an end to the situation where an. Here on my possession in as exhibit and on your website are studies that show that it works this is going to be very surprising to most of you because you have been told this yeah I've been told that there's over fifty studies that show what work. More references here the studies that show that work and there's more coming out every day there's a tsunami of evidence to show that this medication works you also heard directly from doctor Resch who is again a really world's leading authority on the issue with the CDC the FTA don't even bother to chat with him they're not looking at the studies this is why it's very important for states like Arkansas to make their own decisions. Where the your own public health officials need to be on top the signs himself I've been very disappointed myself as an American to understand that the top is not paying attention. To a lot of the data. I can just add a couple of things. In terms of the death that that's going on. Covert nineteen is actually or should be think thought of as to diseases it's really an early disease and a late disease the early disease is all about viral replication you need to stop the virus from replicating the way to do that is with hydroxy core Quinn and zinc together the mechanism of action shows that works and when we do it works very well there are dozens and dozens of studies that show what work very well early and there's no study that shows it doesn't work if you give a prophylactic Lee or early. Prophylactic does is very low it's one seventh of the regular dose we give for lupus or rheumatoid arthritis think of all the lives that could have been saved if we had use that for full active in early one hundred percent of the study show at work. When you giving it in late usage there are some studies that indicate it does not work. All of the studies that show that there are problems with that had fatal flaws the either gave too much of the medication they gave it to late or they gave it without zinc. This is only going to show that the drug doesn't work but it's not actually studying the drug they're actually doing poor science they don't count. But even removing the once you remove any late study even if you want to talk about the efficacy. You got to go back to the question of why are we even talking about this in the first place right up until the year twenty twenty this is the drug that your doctors gave you freely if you're going to go take a trip to and and the Larry endemic region of the world. Now again Kobe is an early disease or it's in the late disease problem in the early portion of the disease it's all about viral replication hydroxy Cork winning zinc in the late stages all about cytokine storm and that's when things like rent a center come in who actually gets really sick from Covin it's very well known it's been known since the beginning it's patients with comorbid conditions to some extent it's the elderly as well but it's most if you've got under like conditions obesity diabetes and serious heart lung a kidney diseases those patients do poorly even the CDC recently came out with the following statement the CDC said that six percent of the deaths of code nineteen are in patients without comorbid conditions the average person who dies in covert nineteen is two point six serious medical conditions this is very important this is not a disease that all of us should be living in fear with. One more question. I want to encourage of. Everest out is let me get specifically down to Arkansas Arkansas like many states instituted a rule specific to hydroxy core Quinn. And only in the time of cold read that really should not be done and I hope going forward in the future pandemic Arkansas will hold the line and not make new rules just for that pandemic the rules are likely to be wrong you should let doctors just be doctors Arkansas came out with the rule which it modified but the current law in Arkansas regarding hydroxy Cork when is the following. I'd like to court can can continue to be administered as off label. A however we want you to be basically they're saying they want you to be cautious and nor is it reasonable to believe that the benefits outweigh their known or potential risks I submit to you two things first don't make rules pertaining to a particular disease let the doctors be doctors. Because that rule which was an improvement over you're past rule is still wrong there's plenty of evidence to show that it works you just heard one of the most famous people the country say so I could fill your head with all kinds of other data but I'll leave you with one more data point. Countries and also states that use hydroxy core Quinn liberally have a much lower death rate. In this problem it tends to be it is almost exclusively a problem of western nations which are restricting hydroxy core Quinn western Europe Canada America in parts of the world we can get Clark when hydroxy Cork liberally. Me share with you the case fatality rates. In America the case fatality rates or the for hundreds per million in Europe it's about in the six hundred per million in Sweden which didn't locked down it's in the five hundreds per million. In slum areas that are very poor in the poorest parts of the world in sub Saharan Africa with there's no social distancing there's no masks there's no ventilators but where there is an abundance of Clark when. The case fatality ratio. Is less than one percent of ours. We see this all over the world my friends everywhere everywhere you go. And even within our own country. States that have a more normal hydroxy clarken policy have much lower rates than others unfortunately Arkansas is in the worst group Arkansas is one of the most strict restrictive states in the union in terms of hydroxy core Quinn and I urge Arkansas to do one of the two following things at the very least just go back to the way it always was it is up to the doctor in consultation with the patient that's easy enough. My own. Recommendation would be to go further than that. You can see even in the testimony today how difficult it is for doctors to prescribe a drug the core Quinn you may know that I was fired from my job for doing this you've heard another doctor here today that quit her job for doing this there are many many many stories like this you just haven't heard them. I think this these to come right out of the hands of the physicians and should be in the hands of the people this drugs over the counter in much of the world most of the world's population has it available to them in their pocket on a daily basis countries where malaria is endemic call it Sunday Sunday medicine the take a pill Sunday they forget about it to take another call the next Sunday that's because Clerk Quentin hydroxy core Quinn is considered safer than Tylenol save an aspirin and safer than Motrin. The prophylactic does for covert it's four hundred milligrams once a week let me compare that to root root lupus rheumatoid arthritis does which is four hundred milligrams a day. Given how corrupt the scientific journals have been and how one sided the media has been and how difficult with all due respect the government has been both state and local that with state and federal. It should be over the counter I don't understand why I can go to Indonesia pharmacy in it sold in the vitamin section you run it sold in the vitamin section most of Africa you can just pick it up and here in Arkansas in most states in the union you can bang for it I've had patients I have congressman that call me how do I get the prescription this is really a shame I just want to close with very quickly because I find this to be such an affront such a crime against humanity I've actually made it a resource possible for people on my own website we can go and find physicians and pharmacists who ARE hydroxy Clark were knowledgeable you can do telemedicine consultation and can find out if it's appropriate for you and if it is you be able to get it because this is something that should be available to all Americans especially all people from Arkansas. Thank you from strong you're recognized. Thank you very much for having me today Williams doctor robin Armstrong in the internal medicine physician in South Texas and I'm gonna be giving you a practical example where we actually use a toxic working with success is so in March of this year in the Kobe nineteen pandemic began to spread more aggressively and and and South Texas and and we saw a rapid spread in the region where I was in the Galveston area April the second every nursing home resident in all staff in the mid resort Texas city actually was was tested and by by order of the health department and so we have had three staff members two three thanks to our therapists were positive for clover nineteen and so they made the decision to test everyone in the facility. The results that we got from that testing was pretty staggering we saw that fifty five of our residents were positive for clover nineteen and thirty one of our staff members were positive so we had eighty six total cases what happened at that point was was obviously we're very stressed out we lost thirty one staff members immediately is with nurses of folks who'd administrators everyone was working in a nursing home we're just because we were understaffed at this point and we had fifty five positive residents that we were very concerned about we have had this is on the heels probably one or two weeks after a Washington state where they had twenty seven nursing home residents die I was on the heels of Tennessee where they just decided that that they would just on low there nursing homes entirely so they they literally had ambulances lined up unloading their nursing home sending everybody to the hospital which which had devastated missiles. I it taking care of patients in the hospital for a long time I'm a hospital list and so I take care of patients in the hospital I've used all those medicines that were discussed today. And so we had used very early on we were using a classical work when is it the mice and in sync as a treatment for patients in the hospital early on and we saw some success in the hospital and so what we did immediately laws we decided that we have to keep these patients in the hospital evidence shows that that when with elderly folks go to the hospital they you know they they generally they're mortality rate goes up significantly thirty percent of covert patients in the hospital who were were positive Covin thirty percent of them don't leave the hospital if they're on the bill if they get on the ventilator then up to seventy percent of them never leave the hospital it's so our goal was to keep the patients in the reversing home make sure they did not go to the hospital and at the same time trying Cheatham there. I knew that hydroxy quirk was safe I actually had experience with that myself I took it for six weeks when I went to Africa and so I took the medication every day and I took actually doses that were higher than the treatment doses that we were given to our patients and so I knew that the medications were safe. But my doses at us it was far far greater. We assigned myself another physician a nurse practitioner in a rounding nurse to that nursing home for the next two weeks and we rounded on them daily now if you know how nursing homes are this is a we would they were very well staff we essentially made the nursing home of medicine ward because we were very concerned that we were going to lose up to half of our patients we check the EKG is on the patients as well and what we found is that we had no cardiac side effects at all the prolonged QT C. interval that you talked about we had zero patients have a prolonged QT C. interval so the cardiac side effects are certainly overstated. The end result we saw thirty seven out of thirty eight of the patients that we treated survived in in recovered from covert nineteen this was unheard of at that time that the pattern had been that you had large numbers of patients died we certainly expect that we would have lost at least a third or maybe a half of our patients but that did not happen here by any measure this was a success and and our actions very fortunately save the lives of many of these patients. The currently of. Accepted regimen in nursing homes now and even for those or out patients is just to ride it out what I hear a lot of is a talk about you know to send patients home and say you should just take Tylenol and and just ride it out and you'll be okay they basically tell these folks that that you'll either approve or you'll get worse if you get worse did you go to the hospital and we know that that the mortality rate if they go to the hospital is much higher. I've used in treated patients with whom does appear as a hospital physician of treated patients with convalescent plasma as well in the hospital treated with I. B. dexamethasone we've use active row we've use lots of different medications and and and frankly the results that I've seen has not been been all that great. In fact eight out of ten deaths from corporate nineteen patients in the United States have occurred in elderly adults over sixty five years of age and some results here some of statistics I have your elderly people do better if they remain at home they're treated in house if their ages greater than seventy years they were found to have a mortality rate of twenty to twenty seven percent early on in the pandemic these were studies in China that we're done if hospitalize immortality rate rises to as high as thirty to forty percent and we'll tell the rate if into baited and placed on a ventilator and hospital is as high as seventy percent. To treat these patients in their home environment was the best way in treating out patients at home with a drug to correctly is the best way. I wrote down a quote from a physician it's it's well known in the Houston area as cardiologists doctor Peter McCullough Peter McCall and he wrote and I I wrote I wanted to just say it exactly as he said it because of those profound. He says I cannot think of any potentially fatal acute infection where the best strategy is to wait at home with no treatment for two weeks until very sick and then become hospitalized for late supportive care. History will look back on kindly the approach taken by hospitals medical groups the FDA and other regulators in light of needless hospitalizations and loss of lives. So to me this is not about politics at all it's about life and death I believe that we've lost many many lives to covert nineteen that that really did not have to die too many of our elderly too many of our most vulnerable ethnic communities with cool more but conditions have been at higher risk and we've lost those lives and I did not think that it was necessary. I believe that at this point we can help by removing restrictions from how to address the court could use and by allows in Lowery perfect physicians to prescribe these medications where they think it's necessary to where they think you'll be helpful for their patients and so that concludes my remarks thank you thank you. Members get several of you lined up I don't know if all of your questions will be either for these presenters for for doctor delay so what I want to try to do is sit I will recognize you if you get questions for these presenters fine if you need to stay back on will do that we are going to try to wrap up within the next thirty minutes on it's hard thirty minutes it so we're trying to handle this we got a several things if we have to come back on some presentations later for another meeting would do that so represented Ferguson do you have a question for these folks. A yes I do. One thing I have a comment if we could passed out the response that the Yale faculty had to the doctor riche's comments that he he is not a renowned expert in code that he gets a cancer doctor is not an infectious disease epidemiologist but if we could get that passed the mail later I would appreciate it actually you can you can take a look at it with me are you testifying in your capacity that you have some ability to speak upon his credentials well I have the letter from the Yale faculty if it I'll let you pray that that may have we can email yeah we'll take a look at it you know I try to be very careful about statements that we make the to peening the integrity credentials of anybody. Yeah well I will get its at his jail faculty wrote the response that of disagreeing with his assessment and so are you stating that you also disagree and you think had rocks the Clerk when is not something to be last I I think that there's a reason we have the FDA and the city state and we have randomized controlled studies it is my understanding that neither of these people have participated in randomized controlled studies that they're readily available there two hundred and fifty one studies right now if they wanted to prove the efficacy of what they're saying they could participate in one of the studies just they're presenting a lot of information that's confusing to people Indian apricot have fewer cases it's probably not related how to call record we don't know because I have younger population do you want to testify as an expert capacity represented for I am just I will have doctor del Hey if you would like but I am I would like to say because my daughter is in the emergency room doctor. Doctors are not prescribing it trying to with healthcare from people doctors care about healing all because the preponderance of the evidence. From all of the authorities that people typically listen to in signs are saying that is not affectation is it is you're responsible for a doctor prescribed any medication with that evidence shows no benefit and gives patients false hope. It's an ethical A yeah I would like you to respond to that because I mean before they do represented for. Today yes are you going to say it's a responsible of my constituents who prescribed hydroxy Cork when it got better and they push for prescribed that by Arkansas doctors I'm just telling you that opinions and anecdotal evidence is not sound science you can you can have the all the I anecdotal evidence but if we're not addressing the is it's a problem anytime there's a disease that there's no treatment or cure for no vaccination that people are reaching for straws but the overwhelming preponderance of the valley control studies do not show that had to Clerk in does ET you're welcome to submit your own expert testimony to the committee if you'd like you know you were I obviously you're locked and loaded to pounce at any time I'll let them respond to your questions however I just think it's very unusual you know our friends and yes the represented Ferguson I've got people in this state in my own district. Who were given out Roxy quirk when it turned around and I don't know how the world you can say that I can I don't understand how you can say basically people are lying no most people are going to get better anyway is okay go ahead and respond. You know it's interesting to watch unfold right in front of my eyes them alignment of the track that's been after a per for fifty sixty five years excuse me it is safe given to pregnant women breastfeeding women infants children the elderly the mean compromise the elderly any compromise typically take this medication for decades if you look right now today on the CDC website they'll give you a list of people who can take hydroxy court when that list includes children and the elderly it will tell you who cannot take a truck to Corcoran and that list is exhaustive at psoriasis period hard stop and a discussion it will tell you how long you can take a drug to quicken and the answer on the CDC website is indefinitely the FDA maintains a database of serious adverse events related to address the court when the check this for six twenty years into I'm sorry fifty years in fifty years there have been exactly six hundred forty deaths attributable to hydroxy core Quinn that is which in comparison to one million serious adverse events reported annually to the FDA in terms of side effects that's zero point zero three four percent serious adverse I'm desperate to be able to adopt a Cork and is considered one of the safest of medications it is true that just because the numbers are not less than one percent of what we have here in the western states it's surely could be something different however I have never seen anything in medicine that would account for more that three hundred time full difference other than in medication which is widely available to travelers who went to that area and people who live in that area the same people the trip travel to subsaharan Africa from China that same population also travel to Italy and to Europe those countries had death rates due to code in the four hundred five hundred six hundred those same peoples that travel to sub Saharan Africa but requited A. Clark from before they went that location the world has death rates less than one percent I definitely will disagree with the prior Speaker who is our self not a physician nor scientists as best I understand it and how understanding of what it means to have a randomized clinical clinical controlled. Style for example convalescent plasma there's been no randomised control trial washing your hands before you go into surgery no randomized trial certainly no randomized trials ever so that a mask works it's a very foolish I comparison there is not just anecdotal evidence that would be foolish I would be here if there's anecdotal evidence a board certified four years plus twenty years of practice here's our evidence we got fifty three studies I bring those studies to you because the misinformation is bast the disinformation campaign against this one drug. It's so shocking that no matter where you stand politically that needs to alarm you thank you. Add a comment as well so in in in the setting of a pandemic it's it's very difficult to probably you're responsible to do many randomized control trial especially the sitting that we were in in the nursing facility what we were doing all we would to we're treating patients that's it and so what we're doing was using the evidence that we have from China the studies that were done in China using the evidence that we had in France studies that have been done in France where they had a a mechanism of action they had actually how it works they had the the large numbers of patients that it worked on and so what we were saying is that that in the population that we were treating the nursing facility these were not people who were going to get a quote get better anyway these repeat the people who were going to die these are people with many medical problems so they had they had heart disease they had congestive heart failure they had diabetes they were obese many of them and so these were not people who were quote unquote going to get better anyway in fact the evidence was that this could this subsection of people this nursing facility we're going to die. Thirty percent of them thirty to fifty percent of them were going to die that is the evidence that we had in so and so this is a population that was very ill and so we were doing what we did not as of study it was not a study not done as a study which is treating patients and and and what we saw what we observed was that these patients did well in so that and that and that's my point these are all observations that we're making your right they're not randomized control trials but in the setting of a pandemic everything that you've seen coming out from these places are are are are observations and so and so I think it's important that that that we just sort of step back and say listen from my perspective it wasn't on ethical it wasn't there was nothing wrong with that what we were doing was treating them with the medicines that we had that I know from personal use are safe and so if I know those medications are safe and they're not going to do any harm and they have the potential to help out the studies that we had at the time the and that's what we use that's what we did and we had success in in my opinion in the event that the French study just came and showed no benefit I'm sorry the latest fringe study every it showed no benefit and I understand that the time everybody's grasping for straws but I think you have to look at the preponderance of ever that's today we've moved on and when you're continuing to try to push hydrochloric when you're doing that. The expense of other studies one out of every six studies right now it is done on hardcore when we could be looking at things that might be effective. Well I I you know I it's really interest no one's making any money from a truck to correct and I certainly am not I I certainly get no benefit from pushing her drops the Clerk when I I I get no benefit from it all to me is just a little white pill and so what I am seeing is in my observation and my experience is that it works and I see lots of studies that refute what you're saying I see lots of studies that actually show that it is beneficial the studies that I have seen where it is not beneficial or studies that are done in very ill patients were I would argue rim deaths of your hasn't been very successful convalescent plasma hasn't been very success because I've seen these patients not benefit from those meds as well so my point is that hydroxy chloroquine in the studies that have been done is that they they those patients are treated foreign hospitalizations and those of the studies of student that it did not work the ones which showed early on it's but it's successful yeah and I and I know it's a it's a big divided my husband's a position my daughter sensation I mean it's a big debate in medicine but when when you do the issue it is no different than the anti back servers anti Baxter's percent some nominal evidence of risk of vaccines and then I make the rest of the population vaccine hesitant and that's exactly what this is doing when you're proceedings section to your words to Representative I take exception you've cast opinion after opinion after opinion your husband's a doctor your daughter's a doctor this is irrelevant do not cast anything I've said or my colleague has said based on your own opinion. Well it's things like yours is opinion not what I ate those randomized studies or get any. A randomized controlled study congresswoman excuse excuse me just a minute. Before you took action to represent a first and in a and you do know you contacted me about being able to hear a report and then leave so it's obviously that you did not have a lot of interest in hearing you this testimony at I'm sorry. You sent me a message earlier this week about could we hear report early so that if you wanted to leave you could leave and it's obviously I can now see one so we will again there's a lot of things been stated I'll just a is a lot of things been stated but I want to ask this question because it's related to you. And you're welcome to respond if you care and have the information. What country in the world currently has more deaths from code nineteen in any other. United States. United States United States we can agree to that. Thank you Max not on. You cut yourself and then is not trying to come on their sorry. You said you agree to that what countries in the world have lower death rates. I think it's already been stated yeah then the United States or even in Europe yeah it's countries that have access to hydroxy Clark when. Okay. Look the whole point of all this today has been there is a lot of misinformation. You know what I just want the details I want the truth for people and I'm really tired of the politicization of this I've been in the hospital with this. Soon as I was released I was advised that my grandfather in a nursing home in Randolph County Arkansas was covert positive. At the last count I had over eight deaths in a nursing home. Over fifty positive cases in that nursing home and I'm listening to a man from Texas who stamp it out without rocks A. Clark when. In August the fifth the telling my grandfather died represented version appreciates funeral on August the ninth. And spoke over my dead grandfather in a church full of masks looking at me. When he had the same diagnosis that I had. And I'm asking why on earth will anybody refuse the opportunity for people to have access to something that might help them do you think it was dangerous for my ninety three year old grandfather to have a chance to have odd Roxy Cork one no. And so I am I have a problem with almost an attack on these people when they're just putting out information that they can back by the way with more evidence and I've seen a lot of people come in this committee with and you know what I would I'd be ashamed to attack again whose actually telling you he's had the results in his. Is nursing home. And I understand that is charged but you know what you know what's worse is that we're sitting here posed to be one of the most industrialized countries in the tire world worse in here were more deaths than anybody and I would like to know one. Thank you anything else is represented first. I'll bring you back but you but. Well just there are I mean. Call in correlation are two different things there are lots of reasons the United States has a higher rating maker doctor deal Hey can address that. Certainly I you know I'm I mean I like you a lot I'm very sympathetic that you had coverage but that that doesn't mean that it's appropriate for have doctors thought it was helpful don't you think they would give it my daughter's ER doctor she's got a three month old baby if she thought because it was going to prevent her from getting I mean how drug the Clerk and was going to prevent her from getting it she would. Doctors in this state taking it it's run more I'm just jail that the date I did you know that taking that themselves right now I know but the the data is more complicated than their presenting just because we have a higher death right there a lot of factors that go into that comparing us to other countries it could or could not have anything to do with how to Clark would it's just you know it it's called the correlation it's no different than saying okay. They're more ice cream sales in the summer and they're more drownings in the summer that doesn't mean that ice cream because people to derail I mean you can't conflate the data to support what they're saying. But I'll I'm finished they put it in writing and we appreciate your comments and thank you Senator hammer do you still have a question yes Sir got a couple quick ones and then doctor bill Hey if time allows to me some where the rubber meets the road is where you get liability insurance if you do something as a medical practitioner so what about liability insurance for those that are using Cork when versus those that are not have you been issued a guidance from your liability insurance companies. Nobody it really comes down to each state so your state hasn't particularly called out being punished for doing it which would be a problem for liability but what your state should do is revert back to the way the regulations were before covert nineteen it's a very simple compromise. Right and and then it's up to the typical of medical malpractice regulations that have already existed. And if Clark when was being used prior to cope at nineteen and AS testified in this meeting and others that I've listen to Dr Jensen included Why then all the sudden is Clark when not considered safe to be used FOR code right so it's highly suspicious that an FDA drug that's been around for sixty five years there is the data profile is maintained by the FDA's fifty year long database it's been thirty the university of Oxford and thirty two other countries and companies studied almost one million people who've been placed on hydroxy Cork when that's over twenty years it's got an impeccable safety profiled irrefutable and all of a sudden during Covin nineteen. People feel very passionately that doctors ought not to be able to prescribe it how does that not raise red flags. Well and that's my point is it was safe before what is it that makes it unsafe to be used in the treatment of covert nineteen and I I haven't found that is an it's been proven to be safe for example at April twenty nine twenty twenty the American heart association came out with the study on hydroxy for a queen even with the antibiotic is that there may send together does not prolong the QT interval long enough to be a problem it's been studied and studied and studied it's okay I want to use order cycle time lawsuit cheating or just one moment Senator hammer I'm gonna let you continue but I want doctor young to go ahead and come and get ready to testify if she's still here she's driven in from London Arkansas Dr young if you could find you see close there at least there would doctor Armstrong So that you're ready I will be make sure and I'll tell you the rest of the gender we're gonna come back with another meeting get that we just simply went to law with this to the center and will continue thank you are you aware of any lawsuits in any stage where core Quinn has been denied use in treatment of code and families who have lost loved ones are pursuing lawsuits against either the state the health department or any profession any entities that prohibited the use of code I mean a Clark when for treatment. I'm aware that it's being looked at by lawyers as a class action lawsuit. I'd like to hear about that later Mr chairman conspiracy or fact you think that part of the reason court when it's not being allowed to be used or is being discredited weight is is because a lot of pharmaceutical companies will lose a lot of money of core queen could all the sudden be recognized as a viable treatment for covert and I know that's a fact or fiction you don't have to answer if you don't want to what's factual is that entire treatment course of hydroxy Clark when is between ten and fifteen dollars a treatment course of ram disappears between four and five thousand dollars I don't know this cost of plasma. Thank you Mr all right Senator mark Johnson. Thank you Mr chairman of doctor Armstrong doctor golden Arkansas at doctor you under this first I want to apologize for you being put on the spot and your testimony is appreciated I did take the opportunity the earlier parts of the hearing to actually read your white paper and I didn't go through all their efforts as yet but I in. Contrast to what Representative Ferguson said seems like there's a whole lot of studies here that to back up what you say in full disclosure of back in March I received a phone call from a my physician one of my physician's sense retired but still my physician at recommended that I go on. Two hundred milligrams of Hydroxycut Laura Quinn once a week and to make sure I took zinc and vitamin D. and vitamin C. and a typical vitamin regimen and that that this would be a prophylactic to the disease this was at the time when in Europe specially like in Italy had a direct connection business wise with the Wuhan area of China. That people were dying in a few days I've been taking that ever sense and I feel that I was protected by listening to him as opposed to some of the nay Sayers The things that you brought forth today in the evidence that I felt in my good was true but now you've call you've actually clarified it and put some numbers behind it causes me think this is the greatest scandal of my lifetime. It's frightening to me it's even more frightening to me one of my colleagues would attack you for saying what you said now the politicization of this disease is bad enough as it is. But when we have a possible solution that's not only proven safe for as long as I've been alive with if any side effects very rare and and few situations I it hit me right between the eyes Saturday morning I picked up my Democrat is that. And read the obituary of a friend of mine who lives in east Arkansas passed away and I didn't know he lives in center call Wells district but I asked senator Caldwell if he knew about it he city died from covert nineteen and I I can't help but think. This could help ten this could to save his life. And I won't get into the politics we we try not to do that here as much as we can but but it's out there anyone that is you know halfway awaken knows what politics is. And I am just I'm appalled that we're sitting here it as a nation with this type of of evidence now and maybe not perfect maybe not every of the person that that test positive you know can be could be treated or are there it's a fait effective for them but you know early in this game we were talking about bending the curve we weren't trying to save every life in the nation although we would love to we just wanted to bend the curve so the hospitals would be over one out. That we don't have enough ventilators and all these these things and now we're back to now this therapy really doesn't work and and I think our chairman has done a beautiful job of asking questions because quite simply he asked for this therapy in the hospital and they told me couldn't get it and Mister chairman to a question do you do we yet have an answer of wine you couldn't get it in Conway regional Medical Center out at I'm I'm blown away by this and we need to get some people whether it's the the the medical board the pharmacy board pharmaceutical companies you mentioned the CVS Mister chairman. Are they telling their their stores don't get it that you don't give it out I'll let yall answer some of these at Dr young's already not a Is it CVS too much tied into a five thousand dollar drug that they won't let a generic the the solution where are we on this and I I say this to the three of you at the panel and thank you again. Dr young Dr young if you would push that in such Dr young if you would please just state your name and if you're affiliated with anyone for the record Senator young of MD I am now retired so I'm not affiliated. Yes when. Is this the doctor young that was referenced affiliated with human development center should she be sworn under oath as well as was the other she for she was it just stepped in answer this question here but she's will be recognized for her testimony just a moment thank you. Okay I have prescribed some Hydroxycut work one for some friends and other people that I know just a few people but any of the of pharmacies that or corporate owned the pharmacists are employees and they are told that they cannot fill the prescription unless I say that it's for lupus or for rheumatoid arthritis or other previously. Proved the recommendations for hydroxy Clark one of what I have found is small privately owned pharmacies no this this works and they will fill it and A so there's really been three in the state that I've used the last prescription called in was for someone from C. H. D. C. who called me and she wanted it for herself and for her son. Whose of a radiology technician taken chest X. rays so saying code patients and of. she was able to get to twenty six pills I called in twenty six for her thinking that you know twice a twice a week if you're going to be dealing with colored people but for the general public once a week is adequate I'm actually just taking that once every two weeks you know along with sync but anyway so I a texture to see how much it cost for the twenty six bills and it was twenty dollars and seventy five cents. In a and you can get a bottle of of sink two hundred and fifty zinc same like it was eleven ninety nine off of Amazon you know in two hundred fifty say call last year there's no money to be made. With hydrogen Clark just just to be safe I'm I'm sorry of the construct also in response to that in Texas our state pharmacy board actually issued to in order to where they were telling pharmacists not to feel the scripts for covert nineteen and what have we have a state senator in Texas who who called and talked to the executive director the state pharmacy board and they rescinded that that a week later in so so yes pharmacy boards of got involved in so that that's a that's a whole other issue about whether pharmacy board should be not feeling prescriptions written by doctor that goes far beyond cove it but but that did happen in Texas it was rescinded a week later though with some pressure from those states senator. We actually have three more questions that are here and I said we had a hard close Dr young we're gonna hear your testimony now is Senator hammer stated since we do have some disputing of some fax if you would mind a stand force will let you swearing an oath be fair just like we did with doctor Romero doctor delay few you've already stated your name so by raising your right hand do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I do thank you for that knowledge of it in with that Dr young you're recognized for your comments and remember we've heard a lot of the information so I'll let you just make your statements and then you'll have the closing in there may be a question or two because they have a meeting starting here in thirty minutes. I would like for you all to is so much of this like audio visual things now and so if you're really wanting to know how hydroxy Corcoran works. Go to you to search out made cram in metes C. R. E. M. written as one word space coronavirus space hash tag thirty four. That is a poll monologist and intensive care doctor giving a talk on hydroxy Cork one and and sink and how they work it's a seventeen minutes of video that the first. Two and a half to three minute she's just giving it was done in April is giving the update on how many cases there are around the world but it's a he's excellent it given a visualization so that you can see how the hydroxy Clark on works in two thousand and five there was a study by Vincent saying that core Cornish effective against the sars coronavirus that's what we're dealing with again eight directly since we have very little time were you a physician on staff with come we human development center yes okay could you speak to your situation in which you reached out when I ask a general question in the public for anyone that had an experience with this could you speak to the email that I signed it with doctor Romero did you hear that earlier today my exchange yes after Meryl set in and could you speak to that did you feel when you've got a response what was your feeling that either told you yes or no you could use it well I also talked to the administrator there she says we are under we are controlled by the department of health and we have to follow what they say. And I felt like the because he was saying I couldn't even to prescribe it for resident aim for the staff there. And at that point in time you know they were talking about people we we were just starting to have our first cases. And of. And actually if the that Thursday we had our first case and he came around to the We wrote a Hydroxycut four point actually the I got the nurse practitioner to write it I was told I was too old so I was in a What is a category that that I was more susceptible so that in that I shouldn't be treating the patients so I got the nurse to prescribe it in three days later he went back to his unit of the. Of I was wanting the nurse practitioners now with with the ruling the and the way the wording is physician scanned prescribed but not that nurse practitioners. And a C. H. do you see now is being the the medical the treatment is being provided by all nurse practitioners. Do you know whether or not they're utilizing hydroxy Cork when at this time no so they're not all. In the is it was your understanding and the understanding of the administrator that you were being advised not to use hydroxy Cork one yes and I've I felt that I could not stay there and watch people get sick and die when I knew I could prove then it or to watch the people that I worked with the staff get sick and possibly die in not prevent us up I've. I was sitting I got that the mail on Sunday and that night I was sitting at home and I thought I've got to quit. You know because of I just I just couldn't stay there. Is there anything else about that that you want to share with us that we don't know we think is important well of course my husband wanted me to quit anyway. And so he he came up with an another excuse you know but to but now that that was the main reason yeah. Do you have anything else that you want to share briefly because we're past yes I don't. I think we can open up the state I think we can make I think if we made hydroxy Clark one over the counter so that people can get one pill a week you don't have time for there's too many people for them all to have to go to a doctor and get a prescription it be three months before every but at at the most and nobody else to be able to get in to see the doctor but if everybody could have hydroxy chloroform two hundred milligrams once a week plus take the zinc supplement within two weeks there would not be another case of of call that. Unless they weren't following that protocol. Thank you very much members there five would be listed here we're almost five minutes past I'd be more than happy for you to do very quickly that we absolutely must stop at twenty tale so they can prepare this room I've got Sir John G. anything further all right I don't know who is a seat eighty one is that Lee Johnson. Represented Johnson you're recognized. Thank you Mr chair appreciate you give me the opportunity to ask a question and at this point this question seems trivial but I am trying to learn I am a practicing your position as well been fortunate to practice here in the state of Arkansas not California for twenty years and so board certified not fortunately running the obstacles that you ran into a you mention the case fatality rate can you tell me again that number I was trying to clarify that again I'm I'm trying to understand these numbers better in America the case fatality rates are in the for hundreds per million so again in I don't have a masters in public health I'm not an epidemiologist on just a board certified the are not that that is I understand that that's the mortality rate which is different than the case fatality rate is that something I am misunderstanding because in my mind mortality rate is cases proportionate population but the case fatality rate is the percent of people that that actually dine in again I'm not trying to be flip I just think it's important to understand the numbers I wanna make sure I'm not misunderstanding those calculations so I am not turning from using the phrase correctly what I would say for short is that the debt the death rate in America is in the four hundred side per million okay I just I just want to clarify that again I'm not trying to make the point that I am trying to learn and understand so thank you. Senator Clark. Thank you Mr chair. The. It's not unusual for a doctor to have different opinions. Is it. Standard operating procedure the of you know I would most of my life of with severe of foot pain severely flat feet the anytime anybody thought they had played feet always won the contest up in which a specialist in because I it's. Of play sports expectorant but basically told me don't do that anymore of but. Of don't have time to go into it but now have almost no pain because of found somebody. Not Holly's degreed as the other experts who was able to help me that same thing with the following problem a whole lot nurse practitioner just in the last few years instead of saying calories ball of law. Of actually was able to help. I've studied handwashing lately. Of because that's really the other big thing that are based talked about and that hasn't always been standard in medicine has it. Correct in fact it was really controversial at one time yes correct and the one guy read about who seemed to be the one the main forerunners. It couldn't get a whole lot of people listened. But what he did in the beginning wasn't control studies. But as I read was observation. What was in fact the observed one thing and tried that night and work in any observed with this was happening in the tri that that didn't work in any ups or will the and then you came to hand washing which seem to actually work so it is extremely unusual. To not allow a doctor. To try something. Isn't it. I would suggest that we start training had to actually click when clover the way we've always treated medicine and prescriptions in our country. Why are we not. Can you answer that war we not. The motives are complicated but we're currently not treating contract a court and covered the way we she did everything else in this country thank you thank you this Representative della Rosa and then there two more questions. Thank you I'm I'm up here in the front off to the side. I just had to a more basic question you're saying that pharmacists were filling your prescriptions and less the diagnosis was for lupus or I can't read the other one. Is it typical for pharmacists to require the diagnosis to be told to them before they will diagnose before they will so this is that this is unusual they'd I mean because I I've got prescriptions filled and I've never once had a pharmacist say I'm sorry what's this for well that's not approved because I thought that the prescription. Portion was completely up to doctor's discretion it was not for the pharmacist to ask but rather to dispense according to the law so I'm I'm failing to understand why they're even asking nor how they even have the authority to ask that question. It's my understanding is that came from the FDA. Now. If that it's from the state eight states pharmacy board so I believe the lawn Arkansas that they're not allowed to ask I haven't seen any rule empowering the Arkansas state pharmacy board but that's something I would suggest that you clarify very precisely Representative della Rosa actually have already put an inquiry into CVS to get back with me on their policy and the doctor and the patient who happens to be a doctor of chiropractic is written to me about the issue and so it's something I think we need to look into it'll take more than we got time today for sure but I have a an enquiring about that because it is a good question I appreciate that because it it seems like there invading somebody else's scope of practice without us ever changing the law to allow that so I'm very concerned that they're asking questions like that as the contingency upon. I will state that's my orders are enormous see association who consulted immediately as well it's just not same to be an issue in the independent pharmacy space it happens to be more with the big chain pharmacy is what they were from thank you Mr Walgreen's and Walmart have refused may and senator rice if you still have that question Sir you've been very patient of a very quick all jobs and step out for another committee but I I got your testimony I greatly appreciate the three of you being here and and very informative limited quickly sum up I thank the Arkansas department health is working under extreme pressure we all know that doctor amero I believe downplayed what his words me thank you clarified that what I would call for as governor Hutchinson. Who directed the eighty H. in so many things and okay use Put out a clarification. On this immediately. Governor Hutchinson said to a group of legislator several weeks ago when doctor Smith to steal layer when a legislator should win with emergency be over he said when doctor Smith tells me it's over. People this is going to far this testimony is credible out marsian on social media that the legislatures practicing medicine no we are not we're trying to give people their rights in give doctors back what they're supposed to be doing and let him treat their patients. Common sense let's try thank you Mr chair thank three comet senator rice I happen to agree with everything you just said Senator hammer you've got the last shot thank you thank you Mr chair Dr young when you had a question is to Dr Romero's comments did you call to clarify or before you made your decision to resign or did you just resigned on the basis of what your interpretation was of the comments. The only to read the comments again they were pretty clear all I really need to know ma'am is did you know I did not. I did go and talk to him he came monthly to our staff meeting so we we already knew each other and I had been sending him out emails is I was discovering. Science to back up the hydroxy Clark one and of. The so he already knew that was my thinking the four by even sent that the and then on July twenty third was the the board of directors meeting of the eighty H. I tried to get on there's the staff the on their program and I was told it'd been set long time ago and but I went just observe and then saw him afterwards and that's when I told him that I had quit anyone know why and I totally missed well you said I couldn't prescribe that he says will not fair he said he said we can't treat those patients as an experiment he was saying we needed a double blind study and I said well we could do those people and we can prove that it works and he says we can experiment on that he says but that I could turn around and prescribed for my private patients not told him I I'm will be seventy five in December I'm not gonna open up for practice now you know so okay you save me the answer Senator hammer clear for was distracted with something the staff so would your question was and she said no to it what was your direct question by direct question was did she have any direct contact with doctor Romero regarding her reason for retiring okay in that she could not not till July twenty third. But he knew why you retired and didn't try to change anything. Now okay and did you make the statement the A. P. R. ends. Are we are running the human development center or or the. Clarify that please yeah there were three of us doctors. All your paying for snow a few to get. People that can't work any place else I guess that but anyway there three retired doctor so the doctor Jerry Potts Dr GM taps and myself. And we each work three days a week and we overlapped you know and we had to nurse practitioners. Well Jerry Hendren fall on what I've been researching and he was listening to doctor fal'cie and so he was. Concerned because he has some heart a written me is and and so forth and so he could he quipped when we got our first case he he quit. At the same time caps is eighty years old and has or had a return of his cancer nurse undergoing chemotherapy so he's on leave for at least six months and probably don't want to be sent to much about people's issues if you can you're on a public your. Sorry that's fine I'm just glad we have a high level confidence in a P. R. in Steven my roles bill bill opulent shin to be treating and I appreciate them with with that then only you have one last comic because we're now passed to administer only been twelve people that have been admitted to the hospital only to have been on the respirator and no deaths. They are doing an excellent job thank you. We're very thankful for that I thanks thank all the committee for your time here today we will take up the other issues by the way represent a first in their report was not ready they tell me on the exchange so we'll come back on that do appreciate the presenters for being here for your testimony it is a contentious issue but we need to take the contention out of it to try to save lives that's my position thank you for being here we're Jr. King.