Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee - Senate

If the first extraordinary special session welcome however it's doing well and we do have one bill that we are going to consider today and senator bryant if you want to make your way to the end of the table and then after we're done with the spill i've asked the department of health to give us a brief update on the prescription drug monitoring program uhm you may or may not have had a few questions about that but they're prepared to give us just a brill brief updates that don't run off after we hear that spill center brian you are recognized to present senate bill three thank you madame chair senate bill three for you today is pretty much the same language as at nine seventy seven I was passed during the ninety third general assembly with that building building was prohibited covered uh covered sharp mandates across the state agencies including public school cities counties and with the pacific bill had a expiration date of two years post FDA approval which was august twenty first of twenty twenty more and so I was twenty first this year that has since expired so without this law on the books are entities in the state would be able to maintain a vaccine given it was very clear that we do not want that across our state she's been very proactive to allow choice when it comes to vaccine mandates the last section of the bill does allow for entities across the state that require federal finding to come back today i'll see an answer that mainly be looked at it allows a state to weigh in I think governor standards very clear that that's going to be on the case by case basis was strict entitled controls on it okay are there any questions for members of the committee senator love you have a question that commentary senator brown looking at the the. Piece of regions mentioning which is the page three section hour who was while that there were choosing to come back to alc and not just leave it in an executive branch to make that decision so legislative authority over this issue. So if you could if you remember the last bill heads to CMS stay owned hospitals this actually brought it to any any state agency that is looking for federal finding that would have made it required to come to legislative council to ask the question similar language before that was agreed upon that both chambers okay but the people tomorrow state agencies will tell my state agencies and stay the entities they're paula putin executive branch function are are just I guess i'm just curious as to while we're choosing to weigh in as a legislature then instead of leaving it over and as it is exactly it's it's a bride it's it's state entities including the cities schools which the state agency does not go that far down so it comes up to make sure we have control over all the entities of the state that just state agencies thank you center bryan i'll follow up with that question and my understanding is that because it's a federal funding request we are legislative counsel through peer or review would have the produce sherry responsibility of approval of those federal fines and as a condition of us approving any federal funds if there were acting mandate than this then they would have to come before uh so this legislation makes that clear because of our traditional responsibility through alc is that correct the script member thank you thank you senator boys you're recognized for question thank you mountain i'm trying to remember back to the nanny third general assembly did we night out while I go with vaccine mandates entirely or did that not make it across the financial it did with an expiration it also had an experience thank you are there any other questions for members of the committee great cnine we do have someone here to speak for the bill if you will come forward and i'll let use. State your name for the record thank you for being here. If you'll just turn that my gone and then state your name for the record you'll be recognized to speak in favor of senate bill three thank you and my name is noining parosky thank you and good afternoon I appreciate the time are given to speak on this matter i'm as stated before my name is noining part i'm a mother or three and a grandmother to one I was a child care facility owner I during the pandemic that served families of several health care um careers and public service careers I had for employees and at the time nine warming and data to vaccinate. Clear conversation was hard with the parents of children about our intent not to vaccinate leaving it up to each employee and leave you get up to each parent whether they wanted to do so or not during this time my own child finished the school year in the office of my facility due to their shut down coming in constant contact with the children whose parents entered the very hospitals that put them and their families at risk for of catching and transmitting chronovirus nothing in our routine changed except adding zinc and elder vary to our daily item in the list from the years of two thousand and nineteen to to twenty twenty one when the door is close to my day care there were zero cases of corona flu or rac as a parent my children's health and safety is app is always at the forefront and making the decision whether whether or not to vacity my children as a decision only I hold the right to make without the consequence of proper education are believes are for fitting proper education I apologise our beliefs and help her decisions should not be made by any school or government organization as I have one child left at home the last thing I worry about when he leaves my friend door is whether he will catch chrome on a virus our bodies and immune systems are amazing and I wish not to compromise its natural function for a vaccine that does not prevent nor tame the symptoms of this virus thank you thank you are you available to answer any questions yes ma'am thank you are there any questions from the members of the committee thank you so much for your testimony here today. Are there any other further questions are there is there anybody else in the audience that would like to speak for or against this bill seenand you're reckonance close for your bill i'm close thank you look for the you're welcome with that motion to pass and second all those in favor say I and opposed ice habit congratulations you've passed her bill alright thank you if the department of health care come forward please. Alright if you'll just take your name for the record please make your more appropriate health bring a mallery secretary health department of hill thank you i've asked them to give us a report and update on the prescription drug monitoring program um there's been some grants funding I think that has been uh discontinued and so i've had some questions from some certain providers so turn the floor or over to you yeah and i'll go in start and secretary malary may one chamin that several years back we received some one time grant funding for the prescription drug monitoring program and that's the software that the state has overseas where providers can go in and check what prescriptions have been given our control substances primarily and it's a way to track and maintain to make sure that we don't have you know too many control substances out there and that sort of thing and provide some guide is there to prescribers as to what they're prescribing so several years back we receive some grant funding that it will allow the prescription drug monitoring program to connect to some of the different providers which right health records and that funding has gone away now so the prescription drive monday program is still there still working there still a website nothing has changed they are issues that integration between the two systems that was because that that funding allowed and supported is is not funny about the state any longer at this point because of that funny it's gone away you can still go and purchase that uh integration that connection if you want to between the prescription probably to prescription during the monitoring program and the electronic health record system if you want to but at this point the fun is not there to continue that long term even when we had it we didn't have enough to provide funding for every prescriber in the state it was just kind of as a first come first time basis so. Uhm but again the prescription of montreal program is still there that nothing to change there as far as the requirements and still available so accessible you just have to get to it in access to the website instead of going to the electronic health records so and there is no fee associated with accessing the website and looking at the information that you need to look and has changed their office my okay yes senator boyd you recognized for a question so do you do the department of health or the p and p section did you do any assessments to see if there is more efficiency with those. Uh companies that were choosing to use the the grant and the gateway interface versus just to other other people any the insight I think some of the larger entities were using it some of the smaller ones as were as well it was kind of hard to see as far as I think we all agree is more efficient I think that's a better given it's much more fish and if they can just automatically access it through there health records but as far as you know long term what that would do you you know another factor we had to look at too as if we were to continue this where with the funding come from uhm and it's going to be difficult to provide it for every provider at the state forever you know so there was multiple different factors there were continued to look at for grants now to you make this more available if possible if we can identify those and secure those but at this point we're just not the fun is not there and we're not still able to get the benefiting that's needed to do this long term well that can answer your question not really I guess but I guess what i'm trying to there are couple things I want to get out here so first of all there are losses that it produced hundreds of millions of dollars because we are going to protect the public from a p and p the prescription drug monitoring program is something that has been proven to work to help ensure that people aren't I don't know how it's to say it but double dipping saying multiple providers using multiple pharmacies going other places so that the left knows what the right hand is doing why are we not able to access those hundreds of millions of dollars to to do something that is should clearly be more efficient and effective at helping prevent that if if those were really about the outdoor crisis and really about implementing things that matter what what's what's going on there can you speak to that at all senator boy we are we are looking at that in starting the process to be able to ask for those phones. Also looking at the federal level to see if there's any funding there we're looking at all means of being able to support them continuing to do this and actually an expanding it to the program is looking in a couple of grants now I just don't know the regular place and time and that they would be enough as you said you know millions of dollars and yes we agree it's going to be expensive there is funny out there I just don't know that we're secure all that we need to make it available for everyone we're into your point about the operate settlement funding we are till starting to talk about that also I mean supposedly the state agreed to this in some way and there's millions of dollars and this is something that directly ties back to wood prescriptions and the availability so i'm i'm just hard press so thank you for looking at the funding opportunities I want I want to express that now so just want to say that if there's anything I can do to support that i'm i'm happy to do that they would appreciate that so just follow up those fines currently are under his authority the settlement phones there's their spanning with the attorney general's office and then there there is also funding that are for cities in counties but we're also looking at some federal branch that might be available that we're trying to I mean II think just follow up to the point that senator boyd was making us we do have settlement fines that are within our ability to hear lies to address the crisis we have a system we have integration that could be made more effective than why are we pursuing that and I mean it's not without I guess our authority to direct that money as well just kind of I mean you can go after that and you can ask for it but the legislature can also direct that center boy i'll i'll go to you and then senator love no okay center love okay i'm on the come on the same road is just I guess. How do other states pay for their premium it's I can't speak to every situation I think of a lot of it is federally funds but I think sometimes there might be some there may be just in the budget in the state but II think in arkansas it's been usually federally funded through greens now and when is this funding run out to the funny we were talking about was specific for an integration part connected to systems together it's already expiry was open one time bring it but the pdmp is not going to wait that's a totally different part of money that we have federal funds for that okay but the funny nature you talk into us about has already expired yes sir in have you all already had conversations about the settlement bonds or without some very brief conversation yesterday we're working on it. So the prescription direct monitoring program is still intact it's integration that was not across the board state wide for every prescriptor that for some so but that that small portion of it has expired to that grant yes is there any state funding as I see with the pdmb there might be some with some positions I think but nothing or again again that really shouldn't come out of the budget at the department of health that should be settlement dollars utilize for that yes ma'am I mean that's makes complete and perfect sense to me center boy recognized in with your permission that i'd like to make a point I mean so we we have placed a man date on prescribers to check the prescription drug monitoring program I think it's awesome you know we should do everything we can to make that is efficient it's possible and make that so I just reiterate I appreciate your looking at it and and reiterate that i'm happy to help if there's anyway we appreciate the support thank you no and and that's why i'm getting phone calls from providers who are prescribers who I guess had the ability to have this integrated into their systems you no longer have that ability and so they're looking at having to pay you know a a I guess new technology fee in order to integrate this with their systems and they're not happy about having to do that that can still access it through their website without a charge but I think that's just that's why I wanted us to have this information before us today that we can all go to work on it considerable I was looking at them be confused okay any of the questions alright we very much appreciate your work on that's clearly this is a product and as a. That I think i'll legislator spend a lot of time in effort on and I we spent a lot of money on and so we're here to help you know help us can continue the so that prescribers and providers can can help assist in this time to eliminate the crisis because it it's still there thank you guys so much for your hard work and nine here today is there any other business to come before this committee