Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee- House
Video
Transcript
1 document
Bills discussed (51)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HB1004
· 5 mentions in transcript, chapter, agenda
Matched: “…to Public Health Chair Cesarcorum. We will get started with House Bill 1004. I know that has an amendment. The amendment's been adopted…”
|
TO REQUIRE MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR POSTPARTUM MOTHERS FOR ONE YEAR AFTER GIVING BIRTH. | Pilkington | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1245
Act 432
· 3 mentions in transcript, chapter, agenda
Matched: “She's asking we concur in Senate amendment, uh, for HB 1245. You're recognized to identify yourself for the record and…”
|
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS BEHAVIOR ANALYST REGISTRATION ACT. | Clowney | Notification that HB1245 is now Act 432 |
|
HB1257
Act 434
· 3 mentions in chapter, transcript, agenda
Matched: “HB1257 L. Johnson TO REMOVE THE LIMITATION OF THE PRACTICE OF NEUR…”
|
TO REMOVE THE LIMITATION OF THE PRACTICE OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGY FROM TECHNICIANS EMPLOYED BY PSYCHOLOGISTS; AND … | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1257 is now Act 434 |
|
HB1767
Act 863
· 3 mentions in agenda, chapter, transcript
Matched: “…SEARCH ACTIVITIES WHILE THE APPLICATION IS BEING PROCESSED. HB1767 L. Johnson TO ABOLISH THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ADVISO…”
|
TO ABOLISH THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ADVISORY COUNCIL; AND TO CREATE THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES … | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1767 is now Act 863 |
|
HB1817
Act 865
· 3 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…ION OF MEDICAL RECORDS UNLESS CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS ARE MET. HB1817 L. Johnson TO ESTABLISH ELIJAH'S LAW IN ARKANSAS; AND TO RE…”
|
TO ESTABLISH ELIJAH'S LAW IN ARKANSAS; AND TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE … | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1817 is now Act 865 |
|
HB1142
Act 859
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…NCY MEDICATION KITS. REGULAR AGENDA Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1142 A. Brown TO CREATE THE REPRODUCTIVE EMPOWERMENT AND SUPPORT…”
|
TO CREATE THE REPRODUCTIVE EMPOWERMENT AND SUPPORT THROUGH OPTIMAL RESTORATION (RESTORE) ACT. | A. Brown | Notification that HB1142 is now Act 859 |
|
HB1164
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1164 J. Mayberry TO ALLOW A PHYSICIAN OR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER TO…”
|
TO ALLOW A PHYSICIAN OR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER TO OFFER COGNITIVE ASSESSMENTS FOR CERTAIN PATIENTS; AND … | J. Mayberry | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1332
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ADMINISTER A GRANT PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTERS. HB1332 Pilkington TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO COVE…”
|
TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO EVALUATE CLAIMS FOR DIAGNOSES FREQUENCY OF OBESITY-RELATED CONDITIONS … | Pilkington | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1543
Act 631
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1543 Underwood TO ESTABLISH THE WORKFORCE EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITI…”
|
TO ESTABLISH THE WORKFORCE EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITIES ACT OF 2025. | Underwood | Notification that HB1543 is now Act 631 |
|
HB1592
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…TABLISH THE WORKFORCE EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITIES ACT OF 2025. HB1592 J. Mayberry TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA…”
|
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA PUBLIC HEALTH ACT. | J. Mayberry | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1653
Act 636
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION IN NOTICES OF ADVERSE DECISIONS. HB1653 Cavenaugh TO SET STANDARDS FOR THE LICENSING AND REGULATION…”
|
TO SET STANDARDS FOR LICENSING AND REGULATION OF PSYCHIATRIC RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITIES; AND TO DECLARE … | Cavenaugh | Notification that HB1653 is now Act 636 |
|
HB1677
Act 637
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…HOLOGISTS. RE-REFERRED TO COMMITTEE Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1677 Bentley TO AUTHORIZE ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT PROGR…”
|
TO AUTHORIZE ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT PROGRAMS TO MAINTAIN EMERGENCY MEDICATION KITS. | Bentley | Notification that HB1677 is now Act 637 |
|
HB1723
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…AGE FOR POSTPARTUM MOTHERS FOR ONE YEAR AFTER GIVING BIRTH. HB1723 Pilkington TO AMEND INITIATED ACT 1 OF 2000, ALSO KNOWN AS…”
|
TO AMEND INITIATED ACT 1 OF 2000, ALSO KNOWN AS THE TOBACCO SETTLEMENT PROCEEDS ACT; … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1751
Act 640
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1751 Underwood TO REQUIRE AN APPLICANT FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE…”
|
TO REQUIRE AN APPLICANT FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES PROGRAM BENEFITS TO ENGAGE IN … | Underwood | Notification that HB1751 is now Act 640 |
|
HB1791
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…O CREATE THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. HB1791 C. Cooper TO CLARIFY THAT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND…”
|
TO CLARIFY THAT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND THE UNITED NATIONS DO NOT HAVE JURISDICTION … | C. Cooper | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1795
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…REPEAL THE ARKANSAS PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT AGENCY ACT OF 1975. HB1795 A. Brown TO CREATE THE FERTILITY CLINIC LICENSURE ACT. HB18…”
|
TO CREATE THE FERTILITY CLINIC LICENSURE ACT. | A. Brown | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1816
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…PRODUCT TO SELL THE COMPOUNDED PRODUCT TO CERTAIN ENTITIES. HB1816 L. Johnson TO PROHIBIT HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND HEALTHCARE…”
|
TO PROHIBIT HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND HEALTHCARE INSURERS FROM USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE DELIVERY OF … | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1818
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…SH A STATEWIDE ANAPHYLAXIS POLICY FOR CHILDCARE FACILITIES. HB1818 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED CARE TRANSPA…”
|
TO CREATE THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED CARE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT. | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1840
Act 967
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1840 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED ORGANIZED CAR…”
|
TO AMEND THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED ORGANIZED CARE ACT TO ENSURE THAT SEDATION DENTISTRY IS COVERED … | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1840 is now Act 967 |
|
HB1841
Act 1021
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…DENTISTRY IS COVERED BY RISK-BASED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS. HB1841 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS REVENUE INVESTMENT IN VIT…”
|
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS REVENUE INVESTMENT IN VITAL EMS SYSTEMS (ARRIVES) ACT; AND TO CREATE … | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1841 is now Act 1021 |
|
SB278
Act 438
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…VE AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE OR IMPLEMENT ACTIONS IN THIS STATE. SB278 J. English TO REPEAL THE STATUTES CONCERNING THE OCCUPATION…”
|
TO REPEAL THE STATUTES CONCERNING THE OCCUPATIONAL AUTHORIZATION AND LICENSURE OF CERTAIN EMPLOYMENT OFFICES AND … | J. English | Notification that SB278 is now Act 438 |
|
SB367
Act 735
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB367 Irvin TO REPEAL THE SMALL BUSINESS REVOLVING LOAN FUND FOR…”
|
TO REPEAL THE SMALL BUSINESS REVOLVING LOAN FUND FOR POLLUTION CONTROL AND PREVENTION TECHNOLOGIES ACT; … | Irvin | Notification that SB367 is now Act 735 |
|
HB1008
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…OLOGY REPORTING ACT. DEFERRED BILLS Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1008 A. Collins TO REQUIRE MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR POSTPARTUM MOTH…”
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TO REQUIRE MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR POSTPARTUM MOTHERS FOR ONE YEAR AFTER GIVING BIRTH. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1010
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…AGE FOR POSTPARTUM MOTHERS FOR ONE YEAR AFTER GIVING BIRTH. HB1010 A. Collins TO SET THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE IN THE ARKANSAS ME…”
|
TO SET THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE IN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM FOR MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1011
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM FOR MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES. HB1011 A. Collins TO CREATE THE RESTORE ROE ACT; AND TO RESTORE A…”
|
TO CREATE THE RESTORE ROE ACT; AND TO RESTORE A WOMAN'S ACCESS TO ABORTION SERVICES. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1012
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ACT; AND TO RESTORE A WOMAN'S ACCESS TO ABORTION SERVICES. HB1012 A. Collins TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO EXTE…”
|
TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO EXTEND ELIGIBILITY TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS FOR FAMILY PLANNING … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1013
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…BILITY TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS FOR FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES. HB1013 Hudson TO PROTECT FERTILITY TREATMENT RIGHTS IN THIS STATE.…”
|
TO PROTECT FERTILITY TREATMENT RIGHTS IN THIS STATE. | Hudson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1029
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…Hudson TO PROTECT FERTILITY TREATMENT RIGHTS IN THIS STATE. HB1029 D. Garner TO SET THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE IN THE ARKANSAS MED…”
|
TO SET THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE IN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND … | D. Garner | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1032
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…R MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND SERVICES RELATED TO ADDICTION. HB1032 A. Collins TO BAN CONVERSION THERAPY. HB1132 Pilkington TO…”
|
TO BAN CONVERSION THERAPY. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1132
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…TO ADDICTION. HB1032 A. Collins TO BAN CONVERSION THERAPY. HB1132 Pilkington TO INCREASE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE SERVICES PROVID…”
|
TO INCREASE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE SERVICES PROVIDED BY ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSES; AND TO AMEND … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1224
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…RIPTIVE AUTHORITY OF AN ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSE. HB1224 Nazarenko TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR…”
|
TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT; AND TO APPLY THE AUTOMATIC … | Nazarenko | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1244
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…NSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT TO MASSAGE THERAPISTS. HB1244 K. Brown TO AMEND THE REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN A CERTIFICATE…”
|
TO AMEND THE REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN A CERTIFICATE OF FULL INDEPENDENT PRACTICE AUTHORITY BY A … | K. Brown | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1270
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…CERTIFIED NURSE PRACTITIONER OR CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST. HB1270 Pilkington TO ESTABLISH LICENSURE FOR PRESCRIBED PEDIATRIC…”
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TO ESTABLISH A PRESCRIBED PEDIATRIC EXTENDED CARE PILOT PROGRAM THROUGH A SECTION 1115 MEDICAID DEMONSTRATION … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1277
Act 706
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…AM TO REIMBURSE PRESCRIBED PEDIATRIC EXTENDED CARE CENTERS. HB1277 Gramlich TO AMEND PAYMENTS FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION REGARDING…”
|
TO AMEND PAYMENTS FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION REGARDING PETROLEUM STORAGE TANKS. | J. Boyd | Notification that HB1277 is now Act 706 |
|
HB1302
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…CENSURE OF MASSAGE THERAPISTS; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. HB1302 L. Johnson TO ADD DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY TO THE UNIVER…”
|
TO ADD DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY TO THE UNIVERSAL NEWBORN SCREENING ACT. | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1401
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…TS FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION REGARDING PETROLEUM STORAGE TANKS. HB1401 Pilkington TO INCLUDE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY SERVICES WIT…”
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TO INCLUDE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY SERVICES WITHIN THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED ORGANIZED CARE ACT. | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1506
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…PSYCHOLOGICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST MATERIALS OR TEST DATA. HB1506 Andrews TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMP…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; AND TO PROHIBIT A PUBLIC EMPLOYER … | Andrews | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1530
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1530 Achor TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "SPECIALTY HOSPITAL" RELAT…”
|
TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "SPECIALTY HOSPITAL" RELATING TO THE ASSESSMENT FEE ON HOSPITALS UNDER … | Achor | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1532
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…MEMBERSHIP DUES FROM THE COMPENSATION OF A PUBLIC EMPLOYEE. HB1532 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS RARE DISEASE ADVISORY COU…”
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TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS RARE DISEASE ADVISORY COUNCIL. | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
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HB1554
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…NG LOAN FUND. PENDING FISCAL IMPACT Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1554 A. Brown TO CREATE THE ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY REP…”
|
TO CREATE THE ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY REPORTING ACT. | A. Brown | Recommended for study in the Interim by the … |
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HB1566
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…TE THE ARKANSAS RARE DISEASE ADVISORY COUNCIL. Page 3 of 4 HB1566 McClure TO REQUIRE ADOPTION OF A STATEWIDE PRACTICAL NURSIN…”
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TO REQUIRE ADOPTION OF A STATEWIDE PRACTICAL NURSING PROGRAM CORE CURRICULUM TO INCREASE CONSISTENCY IN … | McClure | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1588
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…LUM TO INCREASE CONSISTENCY IN PRACTICAL NURSING EDUCATION. HB1588 McAlindon TO REQUIRE APPROVAL OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEFOR…”
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TO REQUIRE APPROVAL OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES SEEKS OR … | McAlindon | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1718
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…LAWS THROUGH THE REINSTATEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES. HB1718 Gramlich TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS FOR SURGICAL SMOKE EVACUATI…”
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TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS FOR SURGICAL SMOKE EVACUATION IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES LICENSED IN THIS STATE. | Gramlich | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1731
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…RECOGNIZE A PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT AS A PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER. HB1731 Vaught TO STRENGTHEN CHILD LABOR LAWS THROUGH THE REINSTATE…”
|
TO STRENGTHEN CHILD LABOR LAWS THROUGH THE REINSTATEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES. | Vaught | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1762
Act 1009
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…EVACUATION IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES LICENSED IN THIS STATE. HB1762 Hall TO REQUIRE REVOCATION OF A PERMIT FOR THE DISPOSAL OF…”
|
TO REQUIRE REVOCATION OF A PERMIT FOR THE DISPOSAL OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE IN AN AGRICULTURAL … | Hall | Notification that HB1762 is now Act 1009 |
|
HB1781
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…OR PASTORAL APPLICATION FOR A CERTAIN NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS. HB1781 Crawford TO AUTHORIZE THE LICENSURE OF CLINICS, HEALTH CENT…”
|
TO AUTHORIZE THE LICENSURE OF CLINICS, HEALTH CENTERS, OR OTHER FACILITIES IN WHICH A PREGNANCY … | Crawford | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1801
Act 961
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1801 K. Moore TO AUTHORIZE AN OUTSOURCING FACILITY OF LEGEND DRU…”
|
TO AUTHORIZE AN OUTSOURCING FACILITY OF LEGEND DRUGS AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES THAT COMPOUNDS A PRODUCT … | K. Moore | Notification that HB1801 is now Act 961 |
|
HB1819
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1819 L. Johnson TO REQUIRE THE STATE REGISTRAR OF VITAL RECORDS…”
|
TO REQUIRE THE STATE REGISTRAR OF VITAL RECORDS TO COORDINATE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS … | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
SB168
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…G UTILIZATION REVIEW BOARD TO INCLUDE PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS. SB168 Rice TO ESTABLISH A STATE EXAMINATION FOR LICENSURE OF MASS…”
|
TO ESTABLISH A STATE EXAMINATION FOR LICENSURE OF MASSAGE THERAPISTS. | Rice | Died on House Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB187
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…EASES COSTS TO THE STATE FOR THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM. SB187 Irvin TO AMEND THE COMPOSITION OF THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID DRU…”
|
TO AMEND THE COMPOSITION OF THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID DRUG UTILIZATION REVIEW BOARD TO INCLUDE PHYSICIAN … | Irvin | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB257
Act 515
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “SB257 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE MEDICAID FAIRNESS ACT; TO EXTEND THE…”
|
TO AMEND THE MEDICAID FAIRNESS ACT; TO EXTEND THE APPEAL PERIOD FOR PROVIDERS IN THE … | C. Penzo | Notification that SB257 is now Act 515 |
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Good morning. Welcome to Public Health Chair Cesarcorum. We will get started with House Bill 1004. I know that has an amendment. The amendment's been adopted. We're gonna hand that amendment out to staff since it's not our staff is gonna hand that amendment out since it's not been engrossed and then you'll be recognized to present your bill. Give us just a second. No.
Speaker 7
0:36
Yeah. Yeah It was fine. Oh, you're kidding. You're good. Um, chairman, in the essence of time, would
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
0:57
you like me to just start since it already has the amendment's been engrossed, so we have nothing to vote on. Would you just like me to start? Yes sir, you can go ahead and identify yourself with the record and you're recognized to present. Sure, state
representative Aaron Pilkington, District 45, Johnson and Pope County. Um, I'm sure most of you have heard about this bill uh for a long time as one of the first ones filed, HB 1004, uh, which is the 12th month postpartum expansion bill, uh, as you know, Arkansas is the only state out of 50 states that have not extended this pop to this program to this population of women from 138 to 200 of the federal poverty level. Um, I had this bill, 2 sessions ago,
the understanding was it wasn't necessary that they were already covered. We did special language in the fiscal session that required a report from DHS where they found that 1 in 3 women actually were not getting covered. They were losing coverage. Uh, the most recent report actually showed that that's now increased to 4 out of 10 women in Arkansas. Um, obviously there's a concern about duplication of services. That's why this bill has the auto enrollment in our home if that's where they need to be at, which actually has a better match rate than traditional Medicaid, so that's why that's in this bill. But then once again, there was still concerned
about the state spend on this program versus, um, you know, the tight budget we have and we have to have a balanced budget. So, uh, me as well as other advocates in this space for maternal health looked at other ways that we could potentially fill that gap. And what we did in this amendment that we adopted on Tuesday is allowing to use chip funding through an HSI program to fund the state portion of this. So this approach is a cost neutral to the state requiring no new state
dollars. The chip HSI fund has plenty of available funds for this. Chippe out states a portion of their spending to develop health service initiative. are HSIs, the most flexible opportunity to fund projects that aim to improve health of low income children. HSIs enable states to pull federal trip matching funds that are not directly tied to eligibility and get direct support of services. So that's what we've done. This is a mimicked off for what I believe Missouri has done as well, and so that's essentially what we're trying to do to fill this gap. And so, uh, I'm just trying to, you know, obviously
we did a lot of work with healthy moms, healthy babies, but there's always still more work to do, and I honestly, after that bill was done, I felt that I had left these women behind? Who fall within this category and it did not sit right on my heart to not advocate for this group of women to try to help them get coverage. And so I've worked and heard the concerns and have tried to address all them the best I can, and that's why this bill some ways feels like a Frankenstein bill compared to what it was two years ago, but in doing that, I tried to take into
consideration, so we're not duplicating services and we're not creating no new state funds and but I don't take any questions. Any questions by the committee. Representative Bentley, you're recognized for
a question. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Representative Pilkington, for your commitment to
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
3:54
help women in Arkansas. I appreciate that moms. Um, so we're gonna have to request a waiver. We have to get approval. Yes,
Speaker 19
4:00
this will have to be, this will have to be
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
4:03
approved by HHS. So if it's not approved by HHS, then uh we're in the same position, but I figured why not go and ask and
try to get approval for this, so you, so, um,
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
4:15
and I know we just did our healthy mom's healthy babies, and I'm hoping that our community health workers will really do a better job of getting this woman where they need to be. So do you think? Given what we did with this community healthcare workers it's necessary to do this or what, what are your thoughts on that? I
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
4:30
just really want to get your, I mean, community health workers do more than just help with enrolling and eligibility. I mean, there's a whole plethora that they do and they're become a essentially an essential part of the healthcare, um, group
around pregnant women. So, uh, I think this, if anything makes it easier for them so they can make sure that they're getting other services they need and helping them coordinate their care, uh, and, and so that, but once again, I mean, if you're a community health worker and you're, and you go have A woman who was 138 to 200% of federal poverty level, they're going to say, well, sorry. I, I can do everything I can do for you, but you're still not going, there's not, there's no Medicaid coverage for that population. Now, he lived in 49 other states in the District of Columbia, you could get it, but just not here in Arkansas, unfortunately. So one last
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
5:12
final, so they could get, uh, they could help get them enrolled on the federal reimbursement for their insurance coverage, right? So where they get the premiums covered through. So they could get a, they could get a subsidized plan,
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
5:25
go to the Kaiser Institute, they can, you can put in, you know, where you are in the poverty level and what state you live in and and what that subsidy would be, but you know, so think about one of these women who fall in this category, they're making $20,000 a year and they're going to be asked to pay a $60 to $80 premium a month uh for this, and
so, uh, I think if there's funds available that are not being used. Why should we not allow them to use this? Because I think living off $20,000 is is very hard to do, especially with a newborn and how expensive it is to have a child right now, especially with inflation, that even with that, that subsidized plan, it's still very hard for them to get, get insurance, and so that's why uh that's why I'm supporting this bill and hope you will too, Representative Bentley. Thank you, Representative Pilkington. I appreciate it. Thank you. Any additional questions by the committee?
Seeing them, we do have some folks that are signed up to speak for the bill, uh, first House bill, uh, 1004 McKenzie Forman. And sign up to speak for the bill. Miss Foreman, if you will, identify yourself
for the record and you'll be recognized for your testimony. Please hit your mic button. That
Mckenzie Forman
Unverified
6:48
works. Good morning. Um, I first wanna thank you guys for hearing my testimony. My name is McKenzie Forman. I am a licensed certified social worker here in Little Rock, Arkansas. I am certified in perinatal mental health, and I'm the owner of Holding Space Counseling, which specializes in maternal mental health. So today I'm here to testify in support of House Bill 1004. Maternal health cannot be separated from maternal mental
health as social workers, as a social worker, I see firsthand the gaps in care that leave women vulnerable. Today I want to share some of those stories with you all and how these women's lives were directly impacted by Medicaid policies that have failed them. These cases are not rare. Research tells us that women are at risk for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders from conception through 12 months postpartum, at least 22 months
for those that carry full term of 10 months. 40 weeks. Yet Medicaid coverage too often ends abruptly creating dangerous gaps in care. We know that untreated maternal mental health conditions lead to poor birth outcomes, increased maternal mortality and long term conditions that lead to. Sorry, and long term harm to both mother and child yet Medicaid disruptions lead to many without care.
I've worked with women. Who have suffered miscarriages. Found therapy as they should. And then a month into treatment they find out that their Medicaid has been dropped and they are left without the mental health services that they deserve to continue to process this incredible loss. I've worked with women who have experienced a traumatic loss miscarriage. To the point in which she had they had to deliver their baby dead.
And they were forced to endure that without the mental health. Support that they deserved. I've worked with women who have. Delivered multiple babies and Having their babies at 25 weeks. The Medicaid was cut off before they even met their full term, so it was cut off within 60 days, even though she had her baby at 25 weeks and she too was left without mental health coverage with a preexisting
condition of mental health needs. We have a huge maternal crisis on our hands, and we need to do everything that we can to fill the cracks that new moms are falling through. I know that Medicaid is intended to provide essential care but too often um it fails it fails the women who need it the most. These arbitrary cuts and bureaucratic barriers must end.
It is time we treat maternal mental health. With the urgency and respect that it deserves. So with that said, I urge you all to support policies ensuring uninterrupted Medicaid coverage for not only Maternal mortality. Maternal health, but for maternal mental health because we cannot talk about maternal health without acknowledging maternal mental health as a big part of that journey.
So thank you guys for your time and I welcome any questions, ma'am, thank you for your testimony.
Any questions by the committee? See none. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Next we have Latoya
Morgan. Miss Morgan did not indicate for or against, but you're welcome to come to the end of the table and let us know. If you're speaking for or against the bill.
Latoya Morgan
Unverified
10:56
Hi, my name is LaToya Morgan and I am speaking for the bill. You're recognized for your testimony. Thank you so much. I would first of all like to thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to be here. And, um, hopefully my testimony today sways you today. So, um, my name is Latoya Morgan and I'm actually an educator, uh, in the Little Rock School District. And I am here today um as a concerned citizen, not as just
as a concerned citizens, but as a representative of 3 precious little girls and I want you to remember their names. Caitlin Kennedy and Kylie. These 3 little girls tragically lost their mother, my dear friend. Helena Stanton.
Speaker 48
11:58
Just 71 days after giving birth to her baby Kylie. Who was stealing NICU at the time. Helena was admitted to the hospital and unfortunately never came home. Um, she presented with some like she couldn't move her hands, she couldn't move her legs. It was hard for her to breathe and so she had to go to the hospital. The grief and pain. Our family has experienced. Since our passing has been profound.
And I want to make sure no other family has to endure such a tragedy. That is why I am here today to ask for your support for this bill to extend postpartum care for 12 months through Medicaid. Helena was a planner. She had her personal affairs in order, but even with all of her preparation, the unexpected and the unimaginable occurred. Tragically, her story is not unique. For many families, access to critical postpartum care is not just a matter of convenience, it's a matter of life and death.
Without sufficient support after childbirth complications can arise that could be prevented with the proper care and monitoring because I also want to add that she was not treated like the sickest person in the hospital. She was not treated like the sickest person in the hospital. This bill has the potential to save lives, prevents unnecessary tragedy and provide mothers with the health care they need to ensure both their own well-being and the well-being of their children for families like mine,
this bill will provide a glimmer of hope that no one else will have to face the devastating loss that we have experienced, please, I urge you to support this bill and help ensure that no mother. And child are left vulnerable during such a critical time. I remember um she went to the hospital in October and she left this earth on December 9th. On November 30th, I actually went to the hospital and I was
sharing, uh, you know, something else that had occurred with another friend of ours. And um she was like, well, I, I'm gonna keep fighting. It's, it's what she said. And unfortunately, um, she never came home and as you see we're still dealing with this and it's been 10 years. So
Speaker 52
14:22
her baby is, will be 10 years old in September. Thank you so much. Thank you, ma'am, for your testimony. Any questions by the
committee? See none. Thank you for being here today.
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
14:36
I believe that they're only signed up for to speak for the bill and so I just wonder in the essence of time since this is our last meeting before spring break, if maybe we just put them in the record, um, since there's no here want to speak against this bill. Well, I appreciate that and we'll we'll allow the witnesses to decide whether they
want to testify or just be put into the record, Mr. Ben Washington, I believe. You're recognized to go to the end of the table.
Ben Washington
Unverified
15:15
You will identify yourself for the record and you're recognized to speak for the bill. My name is
Speaker 61
15:22
Ben Washington, and I'm a representative of Arkansas AA Legal Justice Network this morning. Um, I'll be brief, um. We're here to support this bill. We at Arkansas to see Legal Justice Center have been taking up new priorities this session and clearly um maternal health is a huge issue in our state, uh, we are very appreciative of what the governor has done with
the monous bill and winds that have been. Um Able to achieve with that, but we know that there are gaps in coverage that will be covered if this bill can go through. The approach here is cost neutral to the state, requiring no new state dollars to be added to this fund. And there's plenty of funding available in the HSI fund to handle uh postpartum care for women. I'm speaking both as an advocate for maternal health and as someone who almost lost his
wife during the birthing process. I know that I'm privileged. I have and had insurance at the time, so I didn't have to go through Medicaid, but, um, had I not had that coverage, I could have very easily lost my wife. It is something that runs in my wife's family, our sister Through health complications as well and suffer seizures during childbirth, um, there are many women of color in the state who are Um losing their children, losing
their lives during childbirth, and this would help bridge those gaps in coverage. Um, Chippelas states. A portion of their spending to develop HSI, the most flex flexible opportunity to fund projects that aim to improve the health of low income children, um, in my research prior to this, uh, in my role at Arkansas Public Policy panel. I worked around Medicaid a lot and I know that in the rural health care systems there are very weak, um. Opportunities in terms of like.
Childbirth and healthcare networks in those regions and being able to do anything for new mothers in the state of Arkansas would be helpful and particularly for our most vulnerable communities. Uh We know that between 10 124 and the end of last year almost 5000 women, um, But dealt with postpartum conditions and 39% of them lost coverage during that same period of time, so this. this bill would help.
Bridge that gap and help more women who are kind of left in the lurch and don't have the coverage at the time, um, I'll. I think that's really all I have to say, but, um, I would really appreciate a good vote on this bill and thank you so much for your time. Thank you, sir, for your testimony see and no other questions.
Thank you for being here today. We have one more person signed up to speak for the bill, Chandra, and I can't make out the last name. She is not here. All right, we will pass over her. All right, I see no one else signed up to
speak for or against the bill. Representative, you're recognized close for your bill as amended. I want to thank
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
18:26
the citizens who came here to testify to share their story today. I mean, this is, this is real life affecting real people all over the state of Arkansas, and, and like I said, I mean, we've done so much great work in this space already. I mean, and, and so I know for some of you might think, how much more can we do, but this is just one of those areas where we have found a gap, we've identified the issue. We've gone back and forth trying to figure out ways to get these, get this coverage and so, um,
and obviously, you know, obviously money's tight here in the state and so we're always looking for ways to do things and finding this cost neutral approach of using this fund that already exists and and having to ask permission from HHS, all those things I think makes it to where this to me is a is a slam dunk and uh for someone who's never slammed dunk in his life being 55, uh, give me my first one ever. Uh, but, uh, so with that I just asked to make a motion to pass and Appreciate the committee's time as, as amended, yes sir. That's motion discussion on the
motion? See none all those in favor say I opposed. Congratulations, sir, you passed your bill as amended.
Members, we're going to move back to the top of our agenda Representative Clowney, are you here?
Ben Washington
Unverified
19:38
She's asking we concur in Senate amendment, uh, for HB 1245. You're recognized to identify yourself for the record and present your amendment. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Nicole Clowney, State Representative,
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
19:46
District 21. Um, I, this is the bill that I brought to y'all seems like a long time ago about behavior
analysts creating an optional registry for behavior analysts. The Senate did what the Senate does and amended it 3 times before it got out, but it did, um, overwhelmingly so, and I just wanted to bring those amendments to y'all today. So, Mr. Chair, um, should I just go one by one through each of the three. All right, so the First Amendment. Um, the First Amendment came at the request of the Department of Health, uh, when we created this optional registry, we placed it under the existing psychology board, um, the original draft that passed through the House
asked that two members, um, of that board have a background in behavior analysis, this amendment changed that from 2 to 1. That's all this First Amendment did. You can go through all three of them, then we'll just we'll
just concur in the amendments. Second Amendment, um, dealt with the Let's see here. Wait. So Good
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
20:41
to go. Go ahead, go ahead and explain them and then we'll go back and and address each one of them
Speaker 70
20:56
individually. Perfect. OK. The 2nd Amendment had to do with, uh, there were two things that that one
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
21:01
did. First, it put a cap on um if you, if you do choose to be on this registry, there are things that you can be fined for certain violations, it put a cap on what those fines could be at the request of the Senate, and then there was just a typo in the previous version, so we had to replace the word license with registration because nothing in this bill has to do with the license. This is all optional. The 3rd and final amendment.
Went through and did a little bit more breakdown on, um, finds that the board um would be able to levy on somebody who is in violation of this chapter. The previous version just gave the board authority to levy fines. The Senate was concerned with that and wanted to place a cap on what those fines could be, um, so we went through and did that and that is about all that we did. So those are the three amendments. Happy to answer any questions on them. All right, thank you, Representative. We're going to go back to amendment number one. Any questions on amendment number one?
See none, what's the will of the committee? Have a motion to concur in the amendment. All those any discussion on the motion, see none all those in favor say aye. Opposed congratulations, we've concurred in Amendment number 1. Amendment #2, any questions? So you know what's the will of the committee? Motion to concur in Amendment number 2, any discussion on the motion? See none. All those in favor say aye. Opposed. Congratulations, you've concurred in Amendment #2. Amendment number 3. What's the will of the committee? All right. Motion to
concur in amendment number 3. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none. All those in favor say aye. Oppose. Congratulations you've concurred in Amendment 12, and 3. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Representative Johnson. You're recognized to go to the end of the table. Would you like to start with your uh Senate amendment as well? Yes, Mr. Chairman, if I can House Bill 1257. You're recognized to present your amendment. Members, this amendment
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
22:56
clarified some language around how we would reimburse Sote so we had to
accidentally said in the original version that we were going to reimburse the text directly. That's not how a techs are reimbursed, they're reimbursed through their psychologists, and so this is just clarifying that we're going to reimburse the psychologist for the, uh, duties and performance of the tech. Happy to answer any
questions on that. Any questions on the Senate amendment. See none. Do you have a motion, Representative motion we concur with
the amendment. All right, we have a motion to concur in the Senate Amendment number 1, any discussion on the motion? See none all those in favor, say
I opposed. Congratulations, sir, we concurred in amendment number one. Are you prepared to run House Bill 1767. You recognize to identify yourself for the record, and you'll be recognized. Representative
Lee Johnson, District 47, if I may, Mr. Chair, if I could have someone from the
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
23:47
Department of Health come and sit with me at the table to help me answer any questions. Yes, sir, just ask
them to identify themselves and you're recognized. you get coming in?
Speaker 80
24:06
The. Hopefully there's not a lot of questions, members, this
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
24:12
is a long bill and it looks like it's doing a lot of stuff. It, it is,
but mainly it's reassigning uh some of the duties. So what we're trying to do in this bill, uh, currently the way EMS is structured emergency medical services in the Department of Health. It's structured as a section of the Board of Health. And so when issues arise with medics, with ambulance services, those issues are taken specifically to the section.
And then those problems get adjudicated uh by a subcommittee of the general board, and that's great when there's someone on the board of health who has some uh background in in medicine or in pre-hospital medicine specifically, but there is not always a guarantee that there's someone on the board that can fulfill that. So you create situations at times where you might have a water engineer or cosmetologist coming in, adjudicating an issue with medics. We have in the Board of Health right now, a it's a council, the Governor's advisory Council on
EMS. This is a 17 person council that exists, but it doesn't have any regulatory authority. It really is just there to give advice and because it's so large, they've really struggled over the years since it was established to get a quorum to have meetings to and create that advice. And so what we're doing in this bill is we are abolishing that large advisory council creating a new streamlined EMS committee that will function
kind of like orthotics and prosthetics. Is that a fair
comparison? Charles Thompson, attorney at Arkansas Department of Health,
Speaker 87
25:49
um Rep Johnson, uh, it will, there's a lot of technical advisory committees we have that have a, the first line administrative decision making function when it comes to disciplinary actions, waivers of that nature, so there's a number of ones that would be comparable to what what we're doing here with this bill. So essentially,
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
26:08
now creating a uh A committee that's within the
board that will now have that sort of authority that that doesn't exist now to give what I would say is better oversight over EMS, and this is something that we've worked on with the Department of Health and with the Ambulance Association, Vermont, really trying to get the language right. It's big because everywhere there are duties referenced to the section of EMS everywhere we can, we're trying to now refer them to this new group that we've assembled, and we'd be happy to try to answer any questions on this bill. Questions by the committee. Representative Richardson, you're recognized for a
Speaker 89
26:43
question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Johnson, the board that the 9 people that's gonna make it up, they're only gonna
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
26:49
be from EMS. I only I'd have, I'd have to look at the specific makeup. I think
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
26:54
we have other representatives, not just from EMS. I think we have a citizen on there and I think we have a position was a consumer, I
think there's a consumer on there, yeah. Y'all can, y'all can confirm that if you want, but I'm pretty sure that's correct. Did they confirm that? I didn't see either one of y'all. I gave a head nod. We do have um
Speaker 85
27:14
Representative Richardson, we definitely, we have, um, there's uh there's consumer, there's designee from
Speaker 87
27:17
the Secretary of Health. There's a training, educational program member. There's a number of different people, not just specifically EMS. Thank you. Any additional questions by the committee. Seeing none, is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak for or
against the bill? See no representative, you're recognized close for your bill. make
a motion do pass. That's motion on the motion?
See none all those in favor say aye. The post congratulations, sir, you've passed your bill. Are you prepared to run
Ben Washington
Unverified
27:53
House Bill 1817? I am. You're recognized to identify yourself for the record, and you'll be recognized to
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
28:00
present. Uh, Representative Lee Johnson district, uh, 47 members, um, Any time you see a name on
a bill, you know there's a story behind it. Um, Elijah was a child that was uh that died tragically in 2017 due to a
severe allergic reaction at his daycare, um, you know, no one wants to be caught unprepared, uh, but there was a feeling that if there had been better preparation, and on the part of the daycare at the time that maybe they could have administered some things to maybe save Elijah's life, and so his parents formed a foundation to try to uh Promote education in daycares around allergic reactions. We already do this in the K through 12 space. So this is something we're doing around empowering
people at school to give EpiPens and understand how to use EpiPens. What we're trying to do with this bill is extend that down to the pre-K level. Um, I worked on this with the Department of Education and the Department of Health. There's no cost to this. This is all agreed to language. Uh, we started with a little bigger bill and of course, as you know, we pared it down so that everyone's comfortable with the amount of training we're asking to provide and how that's going to be, uh, rolled out, um, Elijah's dad could not be here with us today. We're hoping that we can bring him to the Senate because he has a compelling story to tell, and I think for
all the work he's done, he ought to get a chance to tell that story, but, but I wanted to go ahead and get this out of the house today if we can and get it over to the Senate so that he could be over there and present. Representative Richardson, you're recognized
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
29:30
for a question. Representative Johnson, I, I'm loving what you're doing here. My, my question is. It's going to be federally funded. Correct. I don't think you know, so let me, so are
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
29:43
you reading something in the bill specifically show me where you're reading that on
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
29:47
page 4, 30 says the childcare facility may apply for funding through a federal childcare development block grant. May, yes, it's not requiring anyone
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
29:56
to requiring anyone to apply for that funding and there's no guaranteed funding available that they may may apply. So in those low income areas where we know they're struggling to keep doors open.
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
30:06
They just, they probably won't have the ability to. accommodate this is what I hear you saying I don't believe this is an unfunded mandate. I don't believe there's
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
30:14
going to be anything in this that they have
to do if there's not funding available. Thank you. Any other questions by the committee? See no
questions. There's no one signed up to speak for or against. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak for or
against, seeing no one representative of you recognized clothes for your bill. Close for my bill and make a motion to pass. That's motion discussion on the motion? Yes ma'am. Representative
Bentley, you're recognized. I just want to thank Representative Johnson for bringing this forward. This is
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
30:43
a great bill. Thank you for what you're doing. We need more education in that space, so thank you again for all your
hard work and listening and I'll definitely be a due pass.
Speaker 109
30:51
Thank you. Any further discussion? See none. All those in favor say aye,
opposed. Congratulations, sir, you've passed your bill. You prepared to
run House Bill 1840. I am Mr. Chairman Representative
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
31:03
Lee Johnson, District 47. Members, you know, we're trying to address some things around sedation dentistry and people with disabilities. We passed some good legislation out of Representing Mayberry's earlier this week. Um, this is tied to the people that are on the waiver or on the waiver waitlist, so they're assigned to
a pass. One of the issues we had is that the passes are specifically excluded from dentistry, um, we wanted to clarify that that doesn't mean sedation dentistry. So this is the way that we can turn on the codes to allow passes to be billed for sedation dentistry through our different institutions that would supply that. This is agreed to language between some of the passes and some of the providers, um, and I'd be happy to answer any questions on what we're doing here. Any questions by the committee? Representative Bennet, you're recognized for a question.
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
31:53
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's more of a comment. Um, I wanna thank you for bringing this. My son is on a path, so this will greatly help him. Thank you.
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
32:03
You're welcome, and as you know, my daughter also, um, the
special needs and is on a path, so this is good for everyone in the community. Yeah, thank you. Any additional questions by the committee? Seeing
them, we don't have anyone signed up to speak for or against. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak for or against? See
no one representative, you're recognized to close for your bill. Clothes for my bill and make a motion to pass. That's motion. Any discussion on the motion?
See none. All those in favor say aye, opposed. Congratulations, sir, you passed your bill. You prepared to run House Bill 1841. I am. You recognize
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
32:34
Representative Lee Johnson, District 47 members, House Bill 1841. The first thing I want to say is this has not got any funding attached to it, so specifically this would just be a mechanism to distribute money if we ever identify money available for our ambulance services. Uh, we've looked at for 2 sessions now trying to find a way to support our EMS.
services in the counties, as you know, if you live in a county where the population is low. There's a limited number of 911 calls that occur. The the only way that these ambulances really derive revenue is from the 911 calls, and so if they don't get enough 911 calls in a year to pay for an ALS and or a BLS truck. It's hard to make those ends meet in our counties at times have had to subsidize these ambulances right now, um, you know, we're We're continuing to struggle in
some of our least populated counties for this reason. The way we designed this mechanism was to recognize that the lower population of counties, um, have a higher need for funding, and so we divided this in a percentile basis, dividing up the biggest percentile for the least populated counties, and we divided these counties into tiers. We broke the tears off by looking at volumes of 911 call for each county. So we sit down with the ambulance Association, with Association of Counties. looked at like, where are the
natural breaks here and as far as number of 911 calls and where does it make sense to create these tears so that we can fairly distribute the money if we ever get money available. This, this reflects a little bit like what we do in fire. So there's a bill called, there's an act called Act 833 that that has a mechanism for distributing fire funds. It gives funds to each county, sort of in a in a upside down order from what we're trying to do here and that the most popularated counties who have the most Uh, potential for fire
structure, fire support, get the most money, and then the lease, get the lease. We're trying to flip that upside down to say that if we ever decide to fund EMS through this mechanism that we would have it be the least populated counties getting the most money. We have this set up so that if we ever got money, the money would be administered through grants. Each county would have its own account. Uh, the account would be named for the county so that you understand and not giving To the quorum courts, so the money would set in an account
name for each 75 counties, and then this new committee that hopefully we're going to be able to form with this other bill, would then have some opportunities to receive grant applications and then distribute those grants, um, there's also some language in here about qualifying, um, uh, qualifying services and also some grant stipulations. I'd be happy to try to answer any questions. On this bill. Any questions about the committee,
Representative Bentley, you're recognized for a question.
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
35:31
Representative Johnson, um, my county would be tier 5. So, but we right now take some of our sales tax and our sales tax dollars go to fund EMS and for our county it's working great. We have the best EMS we've ever had. Um, I've been there for 40 years. I can attest it's the best EMS service we've ever had. I guess I'm just concerned because my uh According to the crap, we're only going to get 20% while count with more population are gonna get 60% um of the funding so and we're taking some of our sales tax to go towards that, so I guess I've just got a little
concerns on that. Are you saying the least popular get the most money, but not according to this,
you're giving 60% to tier 4 and tier 5, which is the least populated, just gets 20%, um, anyway, so I want to
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
36:13
speak to that because there's a fewer number of counties in tier 5. So even if you get 20% the money to the, to the counties, it gets divided up, so the 60% is getting divided up by a lot more counties. And so ultimately your county would get more money than a county in tier 4, even though the percentile is
more. Does that make sense? It does. Thank you for that. Any additional
questions by the committee? Seeing none. We don't have anyone signed up to speak for or against the bill. Is there anyone in the audience
that would like to speak for her against the bill? See no one you're
recognized close for your bill. I'm close to my bill, make a motion to pass. That's a proper motioning discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye, opposed. Congratulations, sir, you passed your bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Members, we're going to move back up to the top of our regular agenda,
Representative Acer, are you present and prepared to present House Bill 1530. You reckon to go to the end of the table. You will identify yourself for the record
Ben Washington
Unverified
37:16
and you're recognized to present. Representative Aaker District 71,
Speaker 118
37:22
thank you, Chairman and committee. Uh, I'd like to call Brian Fowler, CEO
Chair
Unverified
37:26
of the Arkansas Surgical Hospital, as well as Elizabeth Pittman from DHS to the table, please.
Speaker 9
37:34
He, there. If you will identify yourself for the record. Brian Fowler, CEO of Arkansas Surgical Hospital. Good morning, Elizabeth
Chair
Unverified
37:53
Elizabeth Pittman, I can't say my name today, Director for Division of Medical Services. Representative, you're recognized to present your bill. Thank you committee.
Representative Sonia Eubanks Barker
Unverified
38:01
I know that we were here earlier this week. I'm going to ask, uh, Brian
Chair
Unverified
38:05
Fowler here to give another quick synopsis just to hit some of the high notes. I believe we've reached out and gotten some more confirmation on some of the education that was needed to prove that the program remains tenable and successful with this exit strategy and with that, I'm going to turn over to Brian Fowler, uh, to give a brief recap. Um, it's
Speaker 9
38:23
an honor to speak to you all again and some for the first time.
Speaker 124
38:28
House Bill 1530 amends the definition of a specialty hospital within the hospital
provider tax program. Um, this would grant an exemption to Arkansas surgical Hospital, uh, from the program and would put us alongside children's and Heart Hospital within the definition. Um, this exemption was actually offered to our hospital at the inception of the program, um, we were a newly formed hospital with a new program and alongside that and within the program itself, having a 1% cap on the tax rate as well as language that allowed hospitals to move
in and out of the program, we declined at that time. Um, but again, we were, we were offered that as we were uh identified not to be a fit because of how highly specialized we are in orthopedic and spine surgery. Um, over the last 16 years, this program has changed. Uh, the tax cap, uh, has increased and the calculation methods have even changed as well. And so this program today is not what it was 16 years ago. Um, the supplemental payment program is very important to the state and to and to all the
hospitals while we worked so diligently with DHS, um, in talking with them, uh, we did receive confirmation that it required no state plan amendments and also they had their contractors run the data for us and assured us that the calculation. Uh, that came out, met the statutory criteria for an automatic approval for the CMS waiver. And we've actually seen that language of automatic approval, that statutory language within an approved waiver in another state program
is recently as December of 2024. Um, and so Arkansas surgical Hospital sees patients from every single county in the state. We're not a community hospital. We provide expert orthopedic and spine care to this entire state. And so considering that fact and being a for-profit hospital that pays almost $2 million in sales tax, property taxes, and pass through state income taxes that a lot of the other facilities within this program do not pay. Uh, we just can't continue to pay into a supplemental payment program,
um, that we don't clearly fit and we don't obtain value from. Thank you. And I, I would just like to
Representative Sonia Eubanks Barker
Unverified
40:44
echo that, echo that. I think it is admirable that for 15 years they've
Chair
Unverified
40:49
continued to participate in this program under the guise that there was no exit. They didn't sue the state. They didn't make any sort of, I guess, problematic issues they see value in the program and have for 15 years continued to take their licks and participate in it. Um.
Now that they're, now that this program has changed and now that they have gotten assurances that there is a safe exit strategy. They're here today to request that exit strategy that was offered to them originally, so I think it speaks volumes of the authors of the program offered them the exemption on the front end because they knew that it was not a tip, they were not a tenable fit for this. Uh, again, to have, I guess, participated in this in good faith. I, I think speaks to the values of their organization, and we wouldn't be here today without the assurances from.
NHS that this safe exit does exist, and I think that that speaks to the fact that for the last 15 years they haven't been at this table. With that we welcome questions. Any questions about the
committee, Representative Bentley, you're recognized for a question. Thank you, Chairman, and uh thank you all for
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
41:51
being here today. I was not here, uh, when the spill was first presented, so I might have a couple more questions and I'm, I appreciate your indulgence, so. I would like
to hear from Elizabeth Pittman, you know, we, uh, we all care. I've got small rural hospitals in my state, in my district and just to
make sure that again it's not going to negatively impact them and if
you could go over the numbers for me, I would appreciate it. Yes,
Speaker 132
42:12
yes, ma'am. So there is a language in the regulation and that they referred to what we have to submit to CMS is
Speaker 134
42:18
called a P1, P2 waiver. I don't know why they have to give everything a weird name, but they do. And basically if we are um at one or under then we are considered automatically exempt. We ran the numbers again. to make sure we met that ratio without Arkansas Specialty Hospital in to be able to apply for that automatic exemption. It does meet that requirement, um,
I have never done an automatic exemption with CMS, so, but that is our intention is to submit it as an automatic exemption to that P1P2 waiver request. You're so I. I need a little more specifics for the state, so
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
42:52
you're um in the number when you apply for this where we're gonna have in the form that would not, is not going to negatively impact our smaller hospitals that are paying into the system now. Is it going to change the number that they're gonna receive, and I know I should have more knowledge of all this, but if you can just get a little more
into the weeds for me, I'd appreciate that. I will try as
Speaker 132
43:12
best I can. I am not a finance expert by any means I'm a lawyer, so and they usually don't let us touch numbers. So,
Speaker 134
43:18
uh, so my is that is correct, um, because of the way that it's done, you know, we look to make sure that if we pull one hospital out we're not going to make the model break. That's what that waiver is for. And then that's why we have to pass it because the rule is that it applies to all hospitals equally and so there's a requirement that there's a waiver, um, the state
doesn't match those dollars with SGR. They're matched by that tax, and then we use that to pull down the federal dollars. So all we're pulling out is what Arkansas Specialty Hospital would have put in. Everyone else's will remain there. And then be distributed accordingly. OK You're welcome. Members, we have
several in the key representative Perry, you're recognized for a question. There we go.
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
44:10
Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. So I'm looking at
this and As, as far as CMS, uh, Only automatic approval, will that waive the public comment period. For for the state, no, sir, but we would still, if we have to do
Speaker 134
44:31
a role, which we don't believe this is a state plan change. So, um, that would not necessarily have to be promulgated, but that CMS approval does not waive our state requirement to put
anything through public comment if required. OK. Would this also, there's
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
44:46
another specialty hospital in Northwest Arkansas with this open, open up and allow them to be exempt as well. No, no, sir, because we have to
Speaker 134
44:56
do this P1P2 waiver using the specific hospitals that we're exempting, that's what CMS would be approving, and that's why we can't just automatically include Arkansas Specialty Hospital without resubmitting those numbers today. OK. I have more questions. I'll come back.
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
45:12
Representative Ferguson, you're recognized for a question. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to follow up on something that Representative Bentley was
saying about the CMS waiver, uh, so DHS is going to ask for a waiver. Yes, sir. What happens if we don't get the waiver? Nothing changes. It stays like it is
Speaker 152
45:30
today. So it stays like this today in the bill. How
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
45:34
does it affect this bill? Well, I believe the bill asks for us to submit a waiver.
Speaker 132
45:38
Is that correct? So it doesn't change the bill. I
Speaker 134
45:43
mean, the bill would still stand in that and we would have met the obligations by submitting that waiver, but if CMS doesn't approve it, it doesn't change the status quo, specialty hospital would still be in that model. OK,
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
45:54
it'd still be in the model. Yes sir. The other question, uh, something else that represented Bentley was talking about rural hospitals, and of course my hospital was uh something else that represented Bentley was talking about rural hospitals, and of course my hospital was it serviced a lot of rural areas in Jefferson County, JRMC, how is this going to affect them? Well, based on the numbers we've
Speaker 134
46:13
run, it should not have an impact on them, a significant impact at all, and because we're still passing that P1P2 waiver that we have to pass in order to even attempt to exclude a hospital
Speaker 164
46:21
from the tax. Follow up. You recognize so it shouldn't affect them.
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
46:25
Yes sir. So if you don't get the waiver, then still won't affect them. Is that what you're saying? Yes, sir. So they numbers remain the same. I would want to double check that, but yes, that's my understanding. I would, I
Speaker 152
46:37
would argue that the numbers are based on the number of Medicaid patients they see.
Chair
Unverified
46:44
So again, they're not, it's not a guaranteed flat amount of money, but it is based on the volume of Medicaid patients, so your hospital, you know, if they, if there's not a dramatic dip in their Medicaid. Patient population, then their numbers will stay the same or grow if they were to see more Medicaid patients. OK. Yeah. Representative Ladyman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh,
Representative Jack Ladyman
Unverified
47:14
well, the discussion's been about rural hospitals. I have two of the largest hospitals in
the state in my district, so it would be the same for them, so they would not see an impact here. It would be automatic by CMS. Is that correct? It would be an automatic approval of that waiver if as
Speaker 134
47:31
approval process with CMS looks like, um, but yes, that is what that regulation says is that it's an automatic approval process that still has to be submitted and reviewed. Large hospitals as well as rural, right? Yes, it's for
every hospital in the model. It would stay the same except Arkansas Specialty Hospital would not be included. All right, thank you. Representative Richardson, you're
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
47:54
recognized for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can, is DHS here? She's at the table. I'm
sorry. I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sometimes I forget I'm used to seeing the the the other young lady that we always have in here, man, uh. Now Pilkington just threw me off what I was about to ask you.
Um, so, so I, I guess maybe I'm, maybe I'm getting some, some different information because It's my understanding that if, if this does go into effect that that there is risk. Of dollars not hitting our hospitals as they once did. Are you telling me there is no risk in that. I mean, there's there's always risk
Speaker 134
48:35
with this model. We can buy CMS definition, the model itself cannot hold a hospital harmless, so there's always some risk associated with the model itself, based on the number of Medicaid clients you see, as they said, what we're
saying is there's a test that CMS makes us meet to get a waiver anyway, and if there's a certain ratio in that waiver, that's what the ratio is, is if we take that hospital out, what does that like for everybody else, um, and, and we meet that automatic we don't think you need to get the full waiver approval process numbers by taking Arkansas Specialty Hospital out, which we think means there's minimal risk by moving forward. Representative Brison, I'll chime in a little bit, um, their participation or not
Chair
Unverified
49:19
participation doesn't change the top line amount of money that each hospital receives.
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
49:30
OK. OK, thank you. Representative Perry, you're recognized for a follow-up question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So
I'm, I'm reading this specialty hospital to finds orthopedic hospital. So Miss Pit, you can guarantee us that the physician specialty, which is an orthopedic hospital would not be included.
In this bill. Because I figure once that happens, they'll come back and ask for a waiver as well. Well, if they're not defined as a
Speaker 134
49:58
specialty hospital in the bill, then we would have to come back to you guys to get them included in the bill before we even applied for a waiver, but I mean, the more hospitals you added to the exemption, the The worst that P1, P2 gets for us to be able to move and then the calculations would be all skewed, so. OK. Um,
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
50:21
How many Medicaid patients does the specialty hospital see? I don't know the answer
Speaker 182
50:30
to that one. That's OK. Could you repeat
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
50:32
the question? I'm sorry. That's all right. What percent of Medicaid patients,
Speaker 124
50:38
do y'all see? Um, I don't have that exact number. I mean, we're about 60% Medicare Medicaid, more heavily Medicare, obviously, um, just because of the specialties that we do. I mean, being an orthopedic and spine, it's, it's
not as simple as finding more Medicaid patients that need a shoulder replacement, um, and, and being an independent, you know, how small hospital, um, we just don't have the the reach and the stretch that the other hospitals do to Even catch all those patients. The other two hospitals you
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
51:11
mentioned, uh, their ER is open 24/7. Will this allow y'all to open your ER 24/7. RER has been
Speaker 124
51:22
All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Rose, you're recognized
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
51:29
for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Bakker. Anybody else at the table, including DHS. Um
Just Briefly, are there any other states that have created similar off-ramps. Yes, I believe Brian alluded to there was a similar
Chair
Unverified
51:43
offer that was created in California in December of 2024 that I believe was actually significantly more complicated than what we're trying to do here, and they were
automatically approved by CMS, um, have there been
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
51:58
funding model. collapses in the wake of doing these things in any other states. No representative. OK. All right, thank you. Representative Acer, I did have, uh, one
question, maybe better for DHS, but and I, I understand the exemption process 15 years ago and this was offered to you and you and the body at that time chose not to take advantage
of that, um, are there any other hospitals in the state that we think may
fit a criteria that if this is approved, they will then come and ask for application through the same means.
Speaker 134
52:34
I am not aware of any, and again, even if they did, we would then have to resubmit that test to CMS, and we may not automatically, we may not meet that definition of automatic approval as written
Ben Washington
Unverified
52:45
in that regulation. OK. I'm gonna ask that one other way. Are there any other hospitals that are out
there in the state that you think would similarly align with this hospital in terms of
their ability to apply. To be honest, Representative, I
Speaker 127
53:00
don't know that we've looked at that specifically, so I would have to take that question back.
Chair
Unverified
53:05
I, I would defer maybe to Brian here to identify why the orthopedic and spine designation of the bill limits this to just them. OK, I'd love to hear that. Yeah, we're
Speaker 124
53:15
not aware of any other hospitals today that meet that definition, um, in the past, I believe that there were, but going through the list as we have today, I do not identify
any on that list today, um, according to my knowledge. OK. Any additional questions by
the committee? Seeing them, we don't have anyone that
signed up to speak for or against the bills or anyone in the audience that would like to speak for against the bill, if you will come to the end of the table and recognize yourself for the record. Are you speaking for or against? OK. Hi, I'm Jodi
Speaker 199
53:51
Ered. I'm the executive vice president of the Arkansas Hospital Association. I will, I do want to say very
Speaker 200
53:57
affirmatively, I sincerely believe Brian Fowler and Representative Acer when they say they do not want to hurt the program. Um, the questions for us remain, so in the CFR that everyone is addressing, saying that there is an automatic approval. It also says, and I'll read directly from it, if the state demonstrates to the secretary's satisfaction. That means the of DHHS. That the value of P1P2 is at least one. CMS will automatically approve the waiver
request because this does take a secretary action, it does put the program at risk for review. That doesn't mean that I know 100% it won't be reviewed. It doesn't mean that they know 100% it will be reviewed. The risk versus reward is what I ask you to weigh. I know I've sent some of you how much the program means to your district and your program, Representative Ladyman, I know you've heard from your district or At least one hospital in your district about how much it means to that program. The question is, is the risk versus worth the
reward. The other thing I would contend to offer is physician specialty in Northwest Arkansas likely does fit the definition of House Bill 1530 as far as an exemption goes, if the P1P2 test was not done in that specific way, um, then probably they need to redo that. They may automatically also also fit um and I do defer to DHS on that. I recognize fully the California information, let me tell you, I found that also last night, California, uh, the exemption that they requested was granted,
but in a subsequent letter right behind the letter where the waiver was requested. CMS also said, you know what, this while we grant your waiver because the dollars and the P1P2 test and frankly, they also had a B1 B2 test with slopes and stuff I hadn't done since differential equations at Hendrix. Um, but that, that piece of it also was in there, and it said, We're also concerned CMS is also concerned that while you meet the letter of the law, and we do give this an approval. We also have concerns that the old
formulas we created in 1992 and 1993 that are looking at these tests now, no longer feet fit the methods and the reasons why we created those particular tests. So we CMS are going to look at other guidelines, regulations, and other things that we may pass to make sure that the hospitals that are bearing the Medicaid. load are not the only hospitals paying a tax to offset the expenses on the hospitals that are carrying the Medicaid load and seeing the majority of Medicaid patients. I applaud
them, I believe they're correct. This is not a, I think they're telling you something that's not true at all. I believe earnestly that they are sincere. I believe earnestly they believe this program will not be impacted. My concern is I also believe earnestly that it could be, and as tenuous as our hospitals are right now. I would beg you to vote no on this, um, and let us continue to work especially with the new federal administration on what might happen between now and then to make sure our hospitals
in Arkansas are sustainable, all of them. You're able to take questions?
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
57:10
Are you willing to take questions, Representative Perry, you reckon that for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Tri, so
you talk about all the other hospitals, especially the rural hospitals. If this impacted some of the rural hospitals that are we're talking. You know, week to week hanging on. How would that impact those? So the way the P1P2 test, if,
Speaker 200
57:30
if this, if he's exempt, he pays a little over a million dollars a
year. Is that correct? in the tax? So that million dollars actually would have to be absorbed by all the other hospitals that are still within the program. It's a million dollars. I'm not trying to say that's a huge amount that every other hospital in the program would have to absorb, but the truth is they would. So if you're paying $200,000 in tax now, you might pay $205,000 next year. What does that mean? What does that $5000 mean? It's different for every hospital, um, but some hospitals that are struggling to make
payroll, $5000 is a lot of money. Representative Ferguson, you
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
58:11
recognized for a question. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, you heard my question about
what happens if the If the uh if we don't get approved for the waiver, and I forget I represent all the city of Dumas in my district. It's a little small hospital there and they kind of just texted me, but
uh they already struggling. So in any well, I can, well, I won't go here, but, but anyway, how does this affect them
or JRMC if the waiver is not approved, we think it will be. So therefore, they'll be OK. So I,
Speaker 200
58:55
I take Elizabeth Pittman at her word that if the waiver is not approved, that things stay as they are. The issue is at the federal level right now,
especially with the California situation where they said we're going to look at these things because the old 1992 and 1993 calculations may no longer impact the or line up with the intent of our program, which is to make sure those Medicaid hospitals or the hospitals that see a majority of Medicaid patients are rewarded for doing so. I will remind you for every Medicaid patient that we see, hospitals lose money, even with the supplemental payment program. That's why these programs were created at the federal level is to help us offset those expenses for seeing
Medicaid patients. So to answer your question directly, if the program is jeopardized and the Department of Human Services has to redo or recreate our supplemental payment program. It puts the thing in jeopardy to wear one, we may lose a couple of years in timing if they don't allow us. To continue the existing program while we're moving along, or 2, they could decide that the assessment program that we have right now doesn't fit their programmatic um definitions and goals, and if so, then we lose
the ability to give ourselves a supplemental payment and enhanced payment that we pay for so that state general revenue does not have to, and that is the risk we're concerned about. Thank you. Any additional questions by the committee. Seeing none, thank you for
your testimony. There is no one else signed up to speak for against the bill. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak for or against the bill? See non representative, you recognized to close for your bill. Thank you.
Representative Sonia Eubanks Barker
Unverified
1:00:39
What we've heard is we have evidence of statutory approval for the program. We have evidence that if the waiver is not approved, that it would continue as is. What we don't have is any evidence to
Chair
Unverified
1:00:52
support all of the concerns that were just listed. The authors of the program offered the exemption because they saw that the this hospital did not fit. And for 15 years this hospitals in paying in. At a charitable rate. For all other 79 hospitals that
have been participating in that, and they have done so year after year without raising a fuss, without jeopardizing the program. Because they believed that there was no safe exit. If CMS was going to remove this program, what we do here today is irrelevant. They can go after the program with or without our attention. And if as early as December of 2024, they looked at the program and approved it. We're working off precedent here. We have statutory approval. We have precedent and
we have DHS's assurance. They had 15 years of belief in the program. And if Medicaid reimbursements are so untenable that we have to create a back end. Work around where there are some massive winners and some massive losers. Medicaid reimbursement should be looked at separately. We shouldn't hold a private hospital hostage for a million dollars loss for another 15 years. While we ignore the real issue, which is Medicaid's underlying reimbursement.
And with that, I'm closer on Bill and I appreciate a motion and a good vote. What's the will of the committee?
If a motion do pass. any discussion on the motion? See none. All those in favor say aye. Opposed. Yeah, let's have it. I've got one hand. Got two hands. Call the roll.
Speaker 207
1:02:44
Representative Hanley. Representative Hanley, Representative Henley, yes. Representative Barnes. Representative Barnes? No. Representative Gramley. Representative Grahamli, yes. Representative Rose, representative of Rose, yes. Representative of more representative more, yes.
Representative Schultz. Representative Schultz. Representative Long. Representative Long. Representative in it. Representative in it no. Representative Richardson. Representative Richardson. Representative Richardson? No.
Representative Cooper. Yes. Representative Cooper, yes. Representative Johnson. Representative Johnson. Representative Perry, Representative Perry, no. Representative of Pilkington. Representative Pilkington, yes. Representative Allen.
Representative Allen, no. Representative Ferguson. Representative Ferguson. Representative Bentley, Representative Bentley, yes. Representative Ladyman. Representative Ladyman, yes. Representative McGee. Representative McGee No.
Representative, your bill's failed. All right, members, we're going to move down the agenda. House Bill 1543, Representative Underwood, are you? Prepared to run your bill? We're gonna start
back at the top of the agenda, Representative Brown, are you prepared to run House Bill 1142?
I apologize. I couldn't see you behind the
Speaker 215
1:05:45
column. That's OK. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Elissa Brown, District 41. We have a fiscal impact members
and an amendment, I believe, for this uh bill, we're gonna pass these out. Fiscal impact in a handout. We're gonna hand these out, if you will identify yourself for the record, and once the fiscal impact has made its way around, you're recognized to present your bill. OK.
Representative, you're recognized to identify yourself with the record and uh you can start to explain House Bill
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:07:40
1142. Perfect. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, members, Representative Alissa Brown, District 41, and I'm honored to present to y'all today HB 1142, which is the Restore Act. um, I want to start off by reading from page 2 of the bill. Women are worthy of the highest standard of medical care, including the opportunity to assess, understand, and improve
their reproductive health. Reproductive health conditions are the leading causes of infertility, which affects 15 to 16% of couples in the United States. Furthermore, many women that have untreated reproductive health conditions like PCOS endometriosis, ovulation dysfunctions, etc. suffer from a wide variety of issues such as hormonal imbalances, painful menstruation, and other symptoms that clearly they just make life difficult and more challenging. So how does this bill, the
Restore Act, help these women. That's by requiring restorative reproductive medicine coverage. I understand most of us have probably not heard of that. So I want to read that definition straight from the bill, and that's on page 4 restorative reproductive medicine is defined as a scientific approach to reproductive medicine that seeks to cooperate with or restore the normal physiology and anatomy of the human reproductive system without the use. of methods that are inherently suppressive, circumventive, or
destructive to natural human functions. So simply put, restorative medicine focus on focuses on holistically treating the underlying health conditions that may be causing infertility. This prioritizes women's health over the profits of big pharma and big fertility. After all the definitions in the bill because I know it's 10 pages now. I did take it down a lot. I, I filed this uh members I filed this bill on the 3rd day of session. So I've heard a lot of feedback on it and made some
good changes, um. But after all the definitions in the bill, you will see the language requiring Title 10 funded facilities to incorporate fertility awareness based methods in their service. This was originally, um, also restorative reproductive medicine, that was my first goal, but after speaking with the ADH and due to federal grant guidelines, we just now list fertility awareness based methods because that is in the federal grant standard of care. So that's covered all those
questions are answered. I took out restorative there. Uh, I also removed all the original reporting requirements out of this bill, and then on page 7 of the bill, we get to the main intent, and this is to add with existing codes that health insurance companies doing business in this state that are already required to cover in vitro fertilization that was in 1991, up to $15,000 are already required to cover that, that now
they have to add in, restore reproductive medicine. I want to know that reproductive medicine is also much less inexpensive than IVF. Much less expensive. Let me reword that. Then IVF and the average cost of IVF can be up to $70,000. Um, it's also less abrasive on the body and has higher success rates. But I do want to be clear, this doesn't limit anyone's ability to access IVF
and actually there's a lot of studies show, uh, that paired with restorative reproductive medicine, the chances of conceiving through IVF are much higher and much more successful, um, at the end of the bill, we also list the Institute of Restorative Reproductive Medicine, which is an organization that medical professionals Used to provide the evidence-based education on restorative health. So to close, and before anyone has any questions, hopefully
unanswered some of those. Women should not spend years in pain, struggling with unexplained infertility. When restorative treatments that could alleviate their pain and remove barriers to successfully conceiving and carrying children exist. Arkansas women deserve better than this. They deserve a standard of care that addresses those underlying health conditions, and today we can take one step with this bill. So with that, I'll try to answer any questions. Representative
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
1:12:09
Bennett, you're recognized for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, represent a brown. I have a question. Did you mention in your testimony that you took out the data, I mean the reporting. Piece of it
Chair
Unverified
1:12:26
in the original bill that I filed on the 3rd day of session, there was a
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:12:31
large reporting requirement section just to keep up with success rates of um data. Of those who use restorative reproductive medicine because it
is evolving. We did strike most of those sections, um, I'm
Chair
Unverified
1:12:43
assuming you're asking because you see a part in the bill where
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
1:12:48
there's reporting, but can I ask my question and maybe you should, OK. How can the proposed bill, which mandates the tracking of reproductive health conditions be safeguarded against potential misuse that could lead to the surveillance of tracking women's personal health data and what measures will be. implemented to protect individuals' privacy and prevent discrimination.
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:13:12
That's a great question. Um, there are no reporting requirements in this bill right now, even if there were, um, what is already required, it's always non-identifiable information, and that The intent, if it was there, it's not. The intent would always be to figure out how to uh update these services to better serve women who want to conceive and want to know about advancing technologies and advancing um medicine for this.
So hopefully that answered your question. Any additional questions by the committee, Representative Bentley,
you're recognized. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Representative Brown, for bringing this bill, um. Some
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:13:52
of those actually been through, uh, in vitro. I was a surrogate for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. It's very, uh, It's just a horrible process. That's all I'm going to say it was very harmful to my body, very just very uncomfortable the whole thing. I would, I did it because I loved my brother-in-law and sister-in-law would never do it
for anything but for love. But anyway, I'm thankful for this spill. So tell
me, um. I know this is always involved there's always new things that are going forward. So do we have any success rates from other from from some of the processes here and I didn't. But yeah, can you tell us some how successful when some of the, some of
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:14:30
that data would be great. Yeah, I, I don't have a completely in front of me, but over
40% of couples that first start with restorative reproductive medicine are able to conceive naturally. And then also with this ongoing um research and and tracking in
other areas we see that um they do not face some of the other health conditions later on down the line that are getting restored because it's about restoring lowering the health of women and taking a holistic approach there and so um great questionpresentative Bentley, and, you know, we do see something filed on a federal level that's similar to this, but Arkansas can take a step forward in having this standard of care for women. You recognize Representative Bennett. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have one more question. How will
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
1:15:16
Title 10 funds, which are attended to support a wide range of reproductive health services be affected by the bill's mandate to prioritize restorative. Reproductive. Medicine. Great question. At the beginning, uh, when I was
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:15:32
presenting, I did mention the big amendment I made that was engrossed, and we took out the restorative reproductive medicine part for Title 10 funding, um, now it only says fertility awareness-based methods because that's already
in the Title 10 funded grant. I heard that feedback from others, um, so we've we've covered that. Representative Henley, you're recognized for a question.
Representative Dolly Henley
Unverified
1:15:58
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Brown, will we hear from the medical society or any of the professionals in this field today. I have not heard of any opposition to the
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:16:07
bill, um, and so I have not heard of any of
Chair
Unverified
1:16:09
that they would be here or anything like that. Representative, I do have a question for you too, and then I
think there may be a couple of others that are in the queue. Um, does this apply to all health insurance providers, so private insurance along with like our home, the expanded population, or Medicaid population? It's a good
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:16:33
question. Uh, so the language in the bill. We are adding on to
an existing area of code. So on page 9, it says an accident health insurance company doing business in the state, um, shall include as a covered and expense in vitro fertilization and
restorative reproductive medicine. So those that cover, uh, in vitro fertilization that's already mandated. Now they just also have to cover restorative reproductive medicine. So
it's those companies that this already previously applied to. OK, so I'm follow up to
my own question, do, are these already covered under Medicaid and our home or the expanded population, or are you aware whether they're covered IVF, I'm not aware that
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:17:20
they are, um, that may be a question for somebody
Chair
Unverified
1:17:23
else, but all the research I have done is that they are not covering this currently. We're gonna uh go
back to questions. Um, I'd like to hear from someone
from Medicaid at some point to know if those services are covered. Representative Allen, do you have a question? That was my question also that
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
1:17:41
we get Medicaid, somebody from DHS to come to the table and answer the question. Well, honor your request, someone from Medicaid here.
Speaker 136
1:17:59
Hello again, Elizabeth Pitman division of Medical Services. You recognize the answer to the question. OK, so my understanding is that Medicaid itself, traditional fee for service Medicaid does not cover and is not required to cover under this bill. Let me start with that. The qualified health plans, the expansion population is
Speaker 152
1:18:17
subject to this bill. They do currently cover some fertility treatment. I can get you exactly how they responded to me on that. Um, so this would apply
Speaker 132
1:18:24
to those plants. You willing to take additional questions?
I will try. Representative Allen, did you have a follow up? Not at this time
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
1:18:37
Representative Johnson. Yes, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Spier, so if I understand the program correctly, uh, that wouldn't add any cost to the state, right?
The fact that the QHPs covered this plan, that's part of their, uh, that would just be part of their uh insurance that we pay the premiums for, is that correct? We would defer to the QHP on
Speaker 152
1:18:53
whether that would raise any premium costs and we would not have to directly pay for this service, there wouldn't be direct state funding that would
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
1:19:01
incur because of the coverage for the QHPs. That's correct. It
Speaker 152
1:19:04
would all be indirect through premium increases. Representative Rose,
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
1:19:12
you recognized for a question. Thank you. Ms. Pittman, thanks for your uh testimony today and for taking our questions. Are you familiar with restorative productive medicine? Not very much, sir, no. Uh, Representative Brown, um, As you understand it and the composition of this bill, the costs of uh the restorative
reproductive medicine is less than the alternatives that are currently covered. Is that, is that correct? Yes, substantially lower, did you say earlier that somewhere around 40% of couples that go with the restorative reproductive medicine conceived naturally. If I remember correctly, that's, that's some of the data
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
1:19:56
I understand. So, um, hypothetically, should this pass,
Families who opt to use these treatment, uh, forms 40% on average or are conceiving at a lesser
cost than alternative methods. So in turn that would be saving money, right? Absolutely. And even, you know,
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:20:16
to add on to that, um, like I said, pairing with IVF to a lot of couples that go through in vitro fertilization, um, they then those women still need this restorative reproductive medicine because they never got their underlying health conditions. addressed, um, so this is more
cost effective in the long run and at the beginning. Follow up, Mr. Chair.
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
1:20:40
You're Reagan asked. Thank you. Is there anything in this bill that forces somebody to choose
these kind of treatments over another kind. No, it just gives them the option. OK, so this expands options for folks, uh, trying to conceive a child. Yes, and it empowers and educates women. OK. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Richardson, you're asked for a
Chair
Unverified
1:20:58
question. Thank you. So Representative Brown, I'm, I'm gonna ask you
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
1:21:07
some questions just because I don't know definitions of some of this, so. When we, when we talk about uh restorative reproductive medicine and what it includes. It seems like some of these things are included with most. Most things regarding a pregnancy ultrasound, blood tests, all this, but what, what caught my eye was exploratory surgeries. So help me understand that what that would entail, so I just thank you for the question. Um, you mentioned with
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:21:37
pregnancy, well, addressing reproductive health isn't always just to conceive. I mentioned in the early beginning stages of my testimony that these are just underlying health conditions like your reproductive organs want to be, they need to be healthy. um, so that surgery was addressing endometriosis surgery, but there's other surgeries that may entail for women, um, in order to get that reproductive health. I'm not a doctor, I'm not an expert on this. I did work with um some leading experts on this, and
then I will say in the um financial impact statement, you can see that surgery that they listed. Which is Surgical procedures, um, which included endometriosis surgery and other things, so you can see that cost there too, the highest cost for that could be up to 10,000. But that's going to be the few. And DHS, is that something that's currently covered? Exploratory surgeries.
Speaker 136
1:22:38
Um, so by traditional Medicaid, we don't cover fertility treatment. We cover medically necessary services. So if a woman has a condition that requires a surgery, we would cover it, um, for a Medicaid eligible client, but not for uh fertility or or reproductive treatment. Um, we, we do. indirectly pay for these services through QHPs, but to get you exactly what they cover, I would have to pull their coverage policies, which they have sent me on this, and I can get back to you. OK. OK, thank you. Any additional questions by the committee, Representative
Johnson. Representative, I think if I'm reading this correctly, so you, you're defining restorative
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
1:23:15
reproductive medicine, correct? And, and so that by definition would limit what the list under B could apply to, correct? It would only apply for, so a laparoscopic exploratory surgery would only apply to A situation where you're seeking to restore reproductive anatomy or physiology, so there would be a limitation to that, correct? My understanding, yes.
Speaker 254
1:23:41
Represented more, you can ask for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Brown, are there other states that have this reproductive empowerment law
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:23:54
in place. Thank you. Great question. Um, not this exact type of legislation, but there are states who have already mandated certain coverage that's in restorative reproductive, uh, medicine. But not to this extent. We've seen the federal legislation that's been filed, and I mean I
will mention certain insurance providers already cover some of these restorative reproductive,
Chair
Unverified
1:24:17
uh, procedures, but not all of them, and we just also want to codify that standard of
Speaker 256
1:24:26
care. You're. Thank you. And I guess my
Speaker 254
1:24:30
other question would be, are we under the assumption that OBGYNs or fertility clinics, doctors are not helping women through a similar process. To this point. Is that what the bill is trying
to address. I don't know if I
Chair
Unverified
1:24:48
would. come into agreement with that statement, I would say this bill went to
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:24:54
again empower women and give them the education that is evolving with restorative reproductive health. There's new research all the time as we're seeing evolving technologies with IVF. We want to see this with restorative reproductive medicine, and it also helps, you know, we've got some information here like through the institute of Restorative reproductive
medicine, um, for those providers. better serve these women. Representative continue recognize for
Chair
Unverified
1:25:20
a question. Thank you. Um, you talked
Speaker 14
1:25:25
about the federal uh restore Act that's going through, that's a bipartisan piece
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
1:25:30
of legislation of the federal, right? That is a great mention, yes, as bipartisan
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:25:34
support. Hopefully we'll see it pass there too, OK, and then my other question is, um,
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
1:25:40
would restorative health uh be helpful for couples like myself who's a Catholic and because of my religious under my
religious beliefs like cannot use IVF, um, but there are other methods that are sanctioned by my religion to use and so for those women who may have those concerns, this would be helpful to
Chair
Unverified
1:26:00
them. Absolutely, absolutely, there's. Little to no ethical and moral concerns with restorative reproductive medicine. Representative Richardson, you're recognized for a question.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
1:26:11
you, Representative Pilkington, for identifying that bipartisan piece of legislation. The uh
As you were working on this, what was the, you, you, I'm assuming you met with OBGYNs and in that group. What was their feedback on this piece of legislation? It
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:26:30
was many months ago, um, but it was through the Institute of Restorative Reproductive Medicine, which was designed by OBGYNs, doctors, all of those who have worked in this field and they're the ones who have come up with this type of legislation and wanting to fight for this type of coverage because they've seen it work and they've seen the success rates.
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
1:26:50
So beyond that group, did you talk to any other OBGYNs that weren't associated with this particular group. I have not in this state,
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:26:57
I haven't heard any uh negative feedback. Again, I filed this the 3rd day of
Chair
Unverified
1:27:00
session. It sat there for 8 weeks, so my other bills, I did hear from OBGYNs that were opposed to them, that I'm not running,
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:27:07
um, so I think if they were opposed to this, they definitely would have reached out. Thank you. Thank you. Representative Rose, you're recognized for a question.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wanted to follow up on uh
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
1:27:21
Representative Moore's, uh, line of questioning, uh, or at the least it it triggered some thoughts that I had. Uh, Individuals who have uh OBGYNs, physicians, clinics that they're working with who may already provide some of these services, but their insurance coverage is not there for that. So individuals could receive maybe all or at least some of these products, but they had to pay for them out of pocket. Is that correct? Right? You're
correct. So what this would do would allow folks to have insurance coverage for already established forms of treatment therapy. Procedures, surgeries, etc. that OBGYNs
and clinics are providing. Right, you're, you're absolutely correct, and that's why many doctors are
Chair
Unverified
1:28:07
the ones leading the cause of fighting for this because they want to see this coverage for their patients. And so I'll end with this is that what this is doing
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
1:28:16
is, is removing cost as a barrier, so it's not just available for people who can afford it, but
available for people who may want to conceive children and can't afford it, and this makes this an option for them. Exactly right. OK. All right, thank you. Any additional questions by the committee. Seeing
none, uh, we do have someone signed to speak for the bill. Ms. Cherise Camp, I believe. To you.
Ben Washington
Unverified
1:29:00
Did I get that correct? Yes, you did. Thank you. If you will
Speaker 265
1:29:07
identify yourself for the record and you're recognized for your testimony. Yes, I'm sure he's staying with family counsel. Thank you, chair, and community members. I'm going to be very brief, um, just offer our support of this legislation. We think it's very good legislation that is family friendly, um, as all of the points that have been brought out today, um, I think it we believe it empowers women, um, to be managers of their own health and Uh, it's family friendly and the
fact that um families that are trying to either begin their families or expand their families, have this cost, um, uh, this, this method that um is not as cost prohibitive as uh IVF treatment, so we just wanted to offer our support and we think this is a good bill and hope that you um give it a good vote. Thank you. Any questions from the committee? Seeing none. We don't have
anyone else signed up to speak for or against. Is there anyone
in the audience that would like to speak for or against. See no one
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
1:30:11
you're recognized close for your bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair and thank you committee. Thank you all for the questions. Um, I've been very passionate about this legislation since the beginning of filing it because again women deserve the highest standard of care, and Arkansas has a moment, um, here to kind of lead this conversation with restorative reproductive medicine as an option. And so with that, I would appreciate a good vote.
Representative Pilkington, you recognized for a motion. We have a motion to pass on the table, any discussion on the motion? You're
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
1:30:43
recognized for discussion. Thank you. Well, I just want to say thank you for bringing this bill today. It's, it's actually pretty interesting. My sister-in-law is actually going into a procedure today, a restorative health procedure today, so it seems kismet that we'd be voting on a bill like this, and I just, I'm excited for the women it's gonna help and uh I just think this is a good bill and appreciate a good vote from the committee. So thank you. Any further discussion?
See none, all those in favor say aye. Opposed.
I'm gonna call it for the eyes. Got
Speaker 207
1:31:23
two hands, call the roll. Representative Hanley, Representative Henley, no. Representative Barnes. Representative Barnes. Representative Barnes? No.
Representative Gramley, Representative Rammick, yes. Representative Rose Rose, yes. was of more. There was enough more? No. Representatives. We they no shows. Representative Long. Representative Long. Representative in it it was in it, no.
It was in a Richardson Representative Richardson, no. It was of Cooper. It was in of Cooper, yes. Representative Johnson, Representative Johnson, yes. Representative Perry. of Perry? No, representative of Pilkington represent of Pureton yes. Representative Allen, Representative Allen, no.
in Ferguson. Representative Ferguson. Representative Bentley, Representative Bentley, yes. Representative of Ladyman representative Ladyman, yes. Representative McGee, McGee? No.
I'm sorry your bill's failed. Representative Underwood, are you in the room? Yes, I You prepared to
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
1:33:25
run House Bill 1543. Yes, Mr. Chair, while we're getting ready for that, may I have a guest join me at the table. Yes, sir. Ask them
to identify themselves for the record. Thank you. Thank you. Nick Staley FGA action. If you will identify yourself with the wreck and
Ben Washington
Unverified
1:33:42
you're recognized to present. Representative Underwood, uh, State Representative
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
1:33:46
District 16. Thank you committee and thank you for your time today. I know you've had a long committee meeting, so I'll try to be as brief as I can be. Um, this bill strives to give people more opportunities and pathways to meet the work requirement for SNAP benefits. I want to be clear though, this bill does not add any new requirements to obtain SNAP benefits. Able-bodied individuals are already required to meet, meet a work requirement and this bill does not change that. This bill gives individuals the opportunity to volunteer.
here, which would help them meet the work requirement. So it just gives them the ability to have more options. Uh, for context, Arkansas already passed a law for a mandatory employment and training or an ENT program and it's and it's food stamp program in 2019. As part of that implementation, Arkansas should require state agencies that receive state funding to accept volunteers who request an opportunity to comply with that ENT requirement. Now, This is completely permissive, and I think that this is important to note that the bill
gives wide latitude for these government entities on on accepting these volunteers. So the bill allows volunteers to observe uh government entity operations to the extent the observation does not interfere with essential functions or the health and safety of employees or the public, and the government entity may also prohibit a volunteer from engaging in activities on the premises of the government entity, and they're prohibited from accepting. And accommodating a volunteer who negatively interferes with the central operations, and I'll
turn over to Nick if he has any additional
Speaker 275
1:35:21
comments. Yeah, sure, just at a high level, um,
Speaker 274
1:35:25
I think that the that the key thing to um to mention here is that uh what we're doing is just providing another pathway for people to meet that work requirement, um, folks are already, if you're uh subject to the ENT work requirement you're already required uh to work, train or volunteer. This is just simply providing another pathway for that. And I'm open to questions if the committee has any.
Speaker 278
1:35:48
Any questions by the committee? Representative Richardson, thank you. Who are you with again? I'm with
Speaker 275
1:36:00
FGA Action. What is that, if you don't mind me asking? Yeah, sure, so most folks here would probably know me more through
Speaker 274
1:36:06
the C3 side through FGA, the Foundation for Government Accountability, we're a think tank that works on uh things that get people out of dependency and back to work. Thank you.
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
1:36:18
Any additional questions by the committee. Yeah, I got a couple. Representative Richardson, you're recognized for a question. Do you think Representative Underwood, this could This could negative negatively impact some of the individuals like adding some additional burden to to these people like if I'm. What we see in some of my communities are those individuals. who are really suffering to make ends meet and they, they have
two kids or whatever now they're gonna have to go and Do, uh, Volunteer work. No, I thank you for the question because
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
1:36:57
I think you raise a point that I want to make sure I'm clarifying. We're not changing the work requirement at all. So the work requirements already in place, and part of that is a volunteer requirement, that's already in place. This doesn't change any of that. In addition, but part of that work requirement is you don't, you have to be an able-bodied individual. This is kind of unrelated to what my bill does, but you have to be an able-bodied individual. So if you have dependents, you actually don't have a work
requirement. My bill just gives people the opportunity to meet. that work requirement by having a pathway to volunteer, uh, but they don't have to do it. It's completely permissive. So if they want to, if they have to meet a work requirement, they can do it other ways. They don't have to follow this. It just gives an opportunity to meet that work requirement or that volunte by giving, having a volunteer opportunity through state agencies. Thank you. Thank you, thank you for the question. Any additional questions by the committee,
Representative Bennet, you're recognized for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, how
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
1:37:51
does DHS feel about this? Yeah, thank you for
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
1:37:54
that question. Um, I, I did speak with them before I ran the bill, and they informed me that they were fine with this bill. Any additional questions
by the committee. Seeing them, we don't have anyone signed up to speak for or against the bills or anyone in the audience
who would like to speak for or against the bill. Seeing non representative you recognized close for your bill.
Speaker 14
1:38:12
Uh thank you committee. Thank you for the questions, and I'll just, you, you've heard my, my presentation. I'll just say I think this gives
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
1:38:18
individuals an opportunity to to meet that requirement if they have one and
I'm close to my bill. What's the
will of the committee? I have a motion to pass Representative Rose, any discussion on the
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
1:38:30
motion you recognize? Yes, uh, thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, after reading through this listening to the
testimony, um, one of the reasons I'm supporting this is that it literally adds no requirements on to folks that actually opens up additional ways for them to fulfill the volunteer uh requirement that's already been established law, so it feels
like it's giving people easier pathways to fulfill these
requirements and so I'm supporting it for that reason. Any additional discussion on the
Representative Jack Ladyman
Unverified
1:39:02
motion. Representative Ladyman. Yeah, I think your bill is a good bill. because people are already going to have the requirement that gives them another option. But the other side of this that you may not have thought of is these organizations that need volunteers. It can fill that need. And meet that obligation, so it's a win-win in that situation. So I think it's a good bill and I'll vote for it.
Any additional discussion on the motion. See none, all those in favor say ay opposed congratulations, you passed your bill. Representative, are you prepared to run 1751. Yes, Chair. Thank you committee on the last bill. Yes, I'm prepared and I have an amendment
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
1:39:39
for that bill. OK, we're going to pass out that amendment and then you'll be asked to identify yourself for the record.
You will identify yourself for the record and you'll be recognized to present your amendment. It just adds the Senate sponsor, correct?
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
1:40:06
Yes, that's correct. So Kan Underwood, State Representative District 16, and yes, my amendment just adds Senator Bryant as my Senate sponsor to the bill. Any discussion on the amendment?
What's, we have a motion to adopt the amendment. In a discussion on the motion? All those in favor say aye. Opposed Your amendment's been adopted, you are now recognized to
present House Bill 1751 as amended. Thank you. This bill
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
1:40:33
is a simple bill. It requires that uh job-ready applicants for the cash welfare program in Arkansas, also known as TANF, um, search for a job while their application is being processed, so I want to be clear, there's already a work requirement for this. This is just moving it up in the process to where they're searching for the job while their application is being processed, uh, a dozen states already do this, including Our neighboring states, Mississippi and Missouri. So it's, it's being implemented in
other places, and I think it's a great thing to do, just so that way people are constantly, you know, staying in the workforce and being desirable in the workforce because they're um Consistent looking for a job, and I also think this is a benefit to taxpayers as well. I'm open to questions. Any questions by the committee? See none. We don't have anyone signed up to speak
for or against the bill, anyone in the audience
who would like to speak for or against the bill. See no you recognized close for
Speaker 277
1:41:32
your bill is amended. I'm closed and I appreciate a
good vote and thank you committee. What will the committee have a motion to pass as amended. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye, opposed? The odds have it. Congratulations, you passed your bill. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. All right, committee, we're gonna sit um Continue to work down the list. Representative Gramley. 3
I'm trying to get to you. You go to the end of the table and present Senate Bill 367. There's an amendment with this bill committee, we're going to pass this amendment out, give you a chance to review it, and then we'll recognize you to present the amendment. I mean, just to be clear, the amendment just add to me is the sponsor. I think we can handle
Zach Gramli
Unverified
1:42:26
that without reading it. We'll go ahead and pass that out in case the committee has any questions,
you're recognized to present your amendment to Senate Bill 367, um. The amendment recognizes me as a sponsor. You have a motion, sir. I have
Speaker 293
1:42:41
a motion to pass on the amendment. Motion to adopt the amendment, any discussion on the
motion. See none. All those in favor say aye. I opposed. I'm gonna call it for the eyes, but I
think it's close. You're recognized to present Senate Bill 367 as amended. I'm glad that hearing aid bill is going to come through here in a few months.
Zach Gramli
Unverified
1:43:01
We'll get that figured out, but, um, thank you, chair.
Thank you committee for uh being here today. Senate Bill 367 is a an easy build, small business revolving loan, a fund discontinuation. Um, this is an energy and environment department bill. What it does is the bill discontinues the small barn small business revolving loan fund for pollution control and prevention technologies. The program was not successful and it is no longer used or beneficial for E&E.
This funding required E&E to act as a lender and enforce collections when not
paid. What will happen is this fund balance, which is approximately 1.78 million. um. We'll turn it into a series of grants to award to Arkansas entities that may include school laboratory cleanups, waste tire abandonment, and assistance to small businesses with environmental remediation. Any modification in fund use will require further approval by the legislature. And with that, I'll answer any questions. Any questions by the committee,
Representative Richardson, you recognize for a question. So you said that those
those are going to be grants that those are some of the
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
1:44:05
things that you could possibly go to no
Zach Gramli
Unverified
1:44:07
longer alone, it's just gonna be grants and then the department doesn't have to act like a loan company and go and take collections. And get their
money back. OK. And you said how much is in it? $1,780,000. Any additional questions by the committee,
Chair
Unverified
1:44:26
Representative Mint, you're recognized for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. What
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
1:44:30
department does this go through again? I missed that. It's energy and environment, and
Zach Gramli
Unverified
1:44:36
they're here if you'd like to speak with them. I'm good, thank you.
Representative Jack Ladyman
Unverified
1:44:42
Thank you. Representative Ladyman, you reckon asked for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Energy may have to come up and answer this question for somebody here. They brought their A team
today. If you will, identify yourself for the record and you'll be recognized to answer the question. Lauren Ballard, chief of staff, Energy
Speaker 297
1:45:00
and Environment. Bailey Taylor, DEQ director and chief administrator of Environment.
Representative Jack Ladyman
Unverified
1:45:06
Yeah, I, I, I think it's an easy question to answer, but I'm just curious, uh, the program that would replace the grant program that you talked about, uh, will that be, does that require legislation or can it be done with rules? I think whatever we end up doing, I think we can
Speaker 300
1:45:24
run through um legislative counsel as far as just redirecting that appropriation. So as you develop it, we can do it in the
Speaker 302
1:45:30
interim, I believe so, yes, sir. Thank you.
Any additional questions by the committee. Representative Bennett, you're recognized
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
1:45:42
for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The purpose for these funds was for economic development, encouraging investments in environment sorry, environmentally friendly options to small businesses and paying a front for a project costs has has this failed its mission.
This is why you're repealing this. That's correct. Um, the original enabling legislation, it only allows
Speaker 300
1:46:08
for, I think pretty small loans on the front end and I don't think we've given a grant, I'm sorry, a loan now under this
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
1:46:16
provision in over 10 years. Is it because people didn't know about it or
Chair
Unverified
1:46:21
it it served its purpose in so there was some new regulations that required gas stations to meet those requirements and so these loans were created in order to allow those smaller gas stations to put that infrastructure on and so those that took advantage of it. have already either returned
their loan or maybe didn't return their loan. And so that was like she said over a decade ago and so it has served that purpose and there's no other, you know, opportunities for the amount that we're able to give, where they can retrofit for environmental purposes, any facility. It's, it's such a small amount. Representative Richardson, you're recognized for a question. So
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
1:47:01
this was just created for convenience stores or gas stations? Yes, sir. OK. Others can apply,
Speaker 308
1:47:10
but that's, that was the intent at that time because of the new requirements, regulatory requirements that had come out. So do
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
1:47:17
you envision moving forward and Representative Gramlich and I have some issue in our
area where we've had some, I'll say some pollution in terms of smell that's coming in with states, with cities or other organizations and maybe it's just too early to figure this out. I'm just curious. Would this be part of the grant they could go after since it's dealing with pollution, quote unquote.
Chair
Unverified
1:47:40
In your mind, say it as it we haven't determined what grants would be available, but that would be through the premature, so I apologize, but thank
Speaker 294
1:47:49
you, we can certainly talk about that. OK, thank you. When, when, when, when your tail starts wagging when you hear something nice. I, I agree. Any additional questions
by the committee. Seeing them, we don't have anyone signed up to speak for or against the bill. Is there anyone in the
audience who would like to speak for or against the bill. Seeing none, you're recognized close for your bill. Uh, thank you, chair, thank you for for your time and with that, I would
Zach Gramli
Unverified
1:48:10
emotion do pass on as amended, of course. That's proper motion any discussion on
the motion? See none of this paper say I opposed. Congratulations, sir, you passed your bill as amended. Thank you. Thank you. Members, we're going to run back up to the top of our, uh, to the top of our
list, Representative Bentley. House Bill 1677 has been re-referred to committee. You reckon to go to the end of the table. We have an amendment we're going to pass out. We'll give you guys a chance to review that and then
we'll recognize you to introduce yourself for the record and present your amendment. I do want to make a
quick announcement also to, to those who are our guests in the room. We have, uh, folks who are signed up to to
speak on Senate Bill 100 and House Bill 1795, those bills will not be heard today. So I don't want you to have to sit through this to the end of the committee. I wanted to make sure that you were aware that those bills will not be heard today.
Read. All right, committee, you've received the amendment, uh, Representative Bentley, if you will recognize yourself for the
record, and you are prepared to present the amendment to House Bill 1677. Thank you, Chairman. State Representative Mary Bentley, District 54, um, colleagues, you're
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:50:10
very gracious and passed this bill out last time and I went and had a conference call with the pharmacy Association and we went through the bill. I was going to do this on the Senate end, but I thought this might be easier to
do it here before we pass it down there. So we went line by line and we just added a couple of things to tighten this pill up to make sure that it does exactly. we wanted to do, we want to make sure that these, uh, pharmacists that are going to pretty much running this are licensed here in the state of Arkansas. We did not have that in the original bill, but a couple of safety things in there and the amendment to make sure that the uh medication box will be behind a locked door. This is too, uh, two double lock things we added in there and again make sure there was not any schedule2s in the box. Um, there are a couple of things they want us to add to the bill. That's pretty much it,
just made it a little bit safer, Bill, tighten it up just a bit, and those are again recommendations from the farm. Py Association and I'll take any questions on the amendment if anybody has any. Any questions on the amendment? Say none. Do you have
a motion, Representative? I make a motion to pass on the amendment. We have a motion
to adopt the amendment in any discussion on the motion, see none. All those in favor say aye. Opposed. Congratulations, you've adopted your amendment. You're now recognized to present House Bill 1677 as amended. Thank you, Chairman. Again,
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:51:23
committee, this is a bill to allow for an emergency medication box and a a medical detox unit um in our state working with rehabs very limited number of these, but wanted to make sure if they happen to be in a rural area, which one is going in my district in a rural area that they had this emergency medication boxes in case somebody has a seizure or cardiac arrest that they can take care of those patients safely again it's run by a register a licensed pharmacist in the state of Arkansas, they would come and replace the medications as needed. We'd use this in nursing homes that are in rural areas as well and so pretty much. mimics exactly what they're
doing in those places. So I'll be happy to take any questions if anybody has on this bill. Any questions by the committee. See none. We don't
have anyone signed up to speak for or against. Is there anyone in the audience who would like
to speak for or against. Seeing none, you're recognized to close on your bills amended. I'm closing. Thank you guys again for letting me bring
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:52:11
it back to committee and make the necessary changes here on our end, um, with that, I make a motion to pass. As amended, as amended. That's proper
motion. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Opposed.
Congratulations, you've passed your bill as amended. Representative Moore, are you prepared to run House Bill 1801. You reckon to go to the end of the table. You will identify yourself for the record and you're
Ben Washington
Unverified
1:52:48
recognized to present. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Kendra Moore, District 23.
Speaker 254
1:52:55
House Bill 1801 was created through an idea brought to me by my APRN. What I really enjoy about this committee, and I'm going to be very positive after a long session that we've had in here today is relationships with these healthcare professionals that we daily interact or they daily interact with patients, assessing their situations and can give us feedback as to what they see as concepts that can really help patients. And this is one of those situations, my PRN began trying to help patients
with more affordable solutions for semaglutides, I think we're all familiar with that medication is, um, but through this compounded version and so specialized compounding pharmacies that are called outsourcing facilities or these 503B compounders are a special class of compounding pharmacies that are licensed and regulated by the FDA and must be good manufacturing practice standards. They want to make sure that Oh, sorry.
We want to make sure that this does not impact EBD or any payers, it's simply adopts this FDA guidance on who a 503B outsourcer can sell to. The specialty compounders create medications that are no longer produced or are expecting shortages. These are sterile injectable medications. Historically, these facilities were not allowed to sell retail to retail pharmacies for them to be able to dispense these medications to patients.
However, the FDA has just changed its position on that last year, and they now allow these specialty compounders to sell to pharmacies to dispense to patients with a valid prescription. This bill will bring Arkansas in line with these FDA guidelines and allows our constituents to be able to take advantage of these compounded medications when the FDA allows them to be compounded, saving our constituents money. It's worth noting that many uh medsPass and
other groups have been buying and administrating these already, this just clears up, that patients can get them from their local pharmacies too. I'd also like to state that the pharmacy Association is in support of this. film and a few minutes ago, I just received an email endorsement from the national community pharmacists Association with this. We've also spoken to the board pharmacy and they gave us input on this bill that we that we incorporated in this bill as well. So with
Speaker 256
1:55:25
that, I will try to answer any questions.
Representative Jack Ladyman
Unverified
1:55:29
Representative Ladyman, you're recognized for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just so I understand, uh, so when you talk about specialty compounders. I mean, can those be the local pharmacy? that do compounding, is that what we're talking about? So with
Speaker 254
1:55:46
your permission, uh, Chair, I'm gonna ask Scott Pace to come join me at the table. I think the answer to that is that there are 3. Official compounders in the state of Arkansas, but I will let Mr. Pace.
Expand on that, if you will identify yourself for the record and you're recognized to answer the question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Scott Pace, and I'm just speaking as
Representative Jack Ladyman
Unverified
1:56:13
an individual pharmacy owner here today. Representative Lederman, could you repeat your question for me? Well, so I have a pharmacy in my district that does compounding. I mean, would that
Chair
Unverified
1:56:21
be a special compounding? Is that what we're talking a good question. The particular type of compounding that Representative Morris talked talking about is um not patient specific compounding. It is more akin to manufacturing,
and there are only 87 facilities in the country that the FDA has authorized to be these kind of bulk compounder, so to speak. They do those sterile products that she mentioned. There are only 3 in the state, one in Fayetteville, one in Conway, and one in Little Rock. Um, the ones that are in your district that do compounding, they do what's called patient specific compounding, uh, and that's where you would go into the pharmacy with a prescription for you for a specific drug that they would make for you, um, the the these particular ones are
ones that, for example, make um epidurals for hospitals that are unable to get um epidurals and they make them in giant bulk so that they can sell them to the hospital for the hospital to then uh use on a specific patient, but they don't know who the patient is at that time. So it's a really It's a niche thing that doesn't impact those those local folks thank you. Thank you, sir. Representative, you recognize for a question. Thank you,
Mr. Chair. Um. Scott Pace. How are you doing?
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
1:57:27
I'm well, representative. Thank you. I have a question. I don't
know if this is totally related to this bill, but representative more you did mention Mets boss. So what, how are they're able to dispense these type of drugs. How do they get around that or how to Um, I guess this question
is for you, Mr. Pace. OK, yeah, thank you, Representative, and it's a
Chair
Unverified
1:57:53
great question. That's what this is all about from a guidance perspective. So I'll give you just a little bit of history. In 2013, Congress passed the law
that created these two different categories of compounders. These individual compounders in the local community that do the patient specific and the bulk compounders. So the bulk compounders when they were first created by Congress were told they could only sell their products to hospitals and to clinics for administration. They have they, the FDA has just recently clarified and said that they can now sell their products to retail pharmacies for dispensing
to patients, so the, the medspots, for example, have been buying those appropriately under the FDA for administration, which is different than for dispensing. And so Representative Moore's bill just clarifies that. with the FDA's new guidance. Any additional questions by the committee? See Nunn, thank you for being here. Thank you for your
testimony. We don't have anyone sign up to speak for or against the bill, anyone in the audience wished to speak for against the bill?
See none representative of you recognized to close for your bill.
Speaker 256
1:59:08
I'm closed for my bill and make a motion to pass. That's
a proper motion any discussion on the motion. So no, all those in favor say aye. Opposed. Congratulations, you've passed your bill. Thank you. Thank you, members, we
have one more bill we're going to take up today, uh, Senate Bill 278. Representative Perry. You're not You will, sir, identify yourself
for the record, and you are recognized to present a Senate Bill
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
1:59:43
278. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mark Perry, District 66. Uh Senator English and Representative Meeks sponsoring this bill. This
comes from the ALC licensing review subcommittee. It is a repeal of no longer needed license. So it does away with it. Any questions by the committee? See none. We don't have anyone
sign up to speak for or against the bill. Anyone
in the audience wished to speak for or against the bill? See none, you're clothes for your bill. I'm closed and make a motion to pass. That's motion on the motion. See none all those in favor, say I opposed. Congratulations, sir, you passed your bill. Committee, thank you for your good work today. We don't have any further uh business on the agenda, we stand adjourned.
Agenda
CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENT
HB1245 Clowney TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS BEHAVIOR ANALYST REGISTRATION ACT.
HB1257 L. Johnson TO REMOVE THE LIMITATION OF THE PRACTICE OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGY FROM TECHNICIANS EMPLOYED BY PSYCHOLOGISTS; AND TO ALLOW PSYCHOLOGY TECHNICIANS TO BE EMPLOYED BY PSYCHOLOGISTS.
RE-REFERRED TO COMMITTEE
HB1677 Bentley TO AUTHORIZE ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT PROGRAMS TO MAINTAIN EMERGENCY MEDICATION KITS.
REGULAR AGENDA
Number Sponsor Subtitle
HB1142 A. Brown TO CREATE THE REPRODUCTIVE EMPOWERMENT AND SUPPORT THROUGH OPTIMAL RESTORATION (RESTORE) ACT.
HB1530 Achor TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "SPECIALTY HOSPITAL" RELATING TO THE ASSESSMENT FEE ON HOSPITALS UNDER THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM.
HB1543 Underwood TO ESTABLISH THE WORKFORCE EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITIES ACT OF 2025.
HB1592 J. Mayberry TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA PUBLIC HEALTH ACT.
SB257 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE MEDICAID FAIRNESS ACT; TO EXTEND THE APPEAL PERIOD FOR PROVIDERS IN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM; AND TO REQUIRE COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION IN NOTICES OF ADVERSE DECISIONS.
HB1653 Cavenaugh TO SET STANDARDS FOR THE LICENSING AND REGULATION OF PSYCHIATRIC RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITIES.
HB1164 J. Mayberry TO ALLOW A PHYSICIAN OR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER TO OFFER COGNITIVE ASSESSMENTS FOR CERTAIN PATIENTS; AND TO MANDATE THAT INSURANCE POLICIES COVER ASSESSMENTS FOR COGNITIVE FUNCTION FOR CERTAIN PATIENTS.
HB1004 Pilkington TO REQUIRE MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR POSTPARTUM MOTHERS FOR ONE YEAR AFTER GIVING BIRTH.
HB1723 Pilkington TO AMEND INITIATED ACT 1 OF 2000, ALSO KNOWN AS THE TOBACCO SETTLEMENT PROCEEDS ACT; AND TO DIRECT THE ARKANSAS MINORITY HEALTH COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH AND ADMINISTER A GRANT PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTERS.
HB1332 Pilkington TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO COVER GLUCAGON- LIKE PEPTIDE-1 RECEPTOR AGONISTS, ALSO KNOWN AS GLP-1 AGONISTS, WHEN PRESCRIBED FOR WEIGHT LOSS.
HB1751 Underwood TO REQUIRE AN APPLICANT FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES PROGRAM BENEFITS TO ENGAGE IN JOB SEARCH ACTIVITIES WHILE THE APPLICATION IS BEING PROCESSED.]'
HB1767 L. Johnson TO ABOLISH THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ADVISORY COUNCIL; AND TO CREATE THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
HB1791 C. Cooper TO CLARIFY THAT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND THE UNITED NATIONS DO NOT HAVE JURISDICTION OR POWER IN THIS STATE AND DO NOT HAVE AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE OR IMPLEMENT ACTIONS IN THIS STATE.
SB278 J. English TO REPEAL THE STATUTES CONCERNING THE OCCUPATIONAL AUTHORIZATION AND LICENSURE OF CERTAIN EMPLOYMENT OFFICES AND AGENCIES; AND TO REPEAL THE ARKANSAS PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT AGENCY ACT OF 1975.
HB1795 A. Brown TO CREATE THE FERTILITY CLINIC LICENSURE ACT.
HB1801 K. Moore TO AUTHORIZE AN OUTSOURCING FACILITY OF LEGEND DRUGS AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES THAT COMPOUNDS A PRODUCT TO SELL THE COMPOUNDED PRODUCT TO CERTAIN ENTITIES.
HB1816 L. Johnson TO PROHIBIT HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND HEALTHCARE INSURERS FROM USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE DELIVERY OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES OR THE GENERATION OF MEDICAL RECORDS UNLESS CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS ARE MET.
HB1817 L. Johnson TO ESTABLISH ELIJAH'S LAW IN ARKANSAS; AND TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH A STATEWIDE ANAPHYLAXIS POLICY FOR CHILDCARE FACILITIES.
HB1818 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED CARE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.
HB1819 L. Johnson TO REQUIRE THE STATE REGISTRAR OF VITAL RECORDS TO COORDINATE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES TO CONTACT MOTHERS FOR SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE DURING THE POSTPARTUM PERIOD.
HB1840 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED ORGANIZED CARE ACT TO ENSURE THAT SEDATION DENTISTRY IS COVERED BY RISK-BASED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS.
HB1841 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS REVENUE INVESTMENT IN VITAL EMS SYSTEMS (ARRIVES) ACT; AND TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS REVENUE INVESTMENT IN VITAL EMS SYSTEMS (ARRIVES) FUND FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AGENCIES.
SB367 Irvin TO REPEAL THE SMALL BUSINESS REVOLVING LOAN FUND FOR POLLUTION CONTROL AND PREVENTION TECHNOLOGIES ACT; AND TO REPEAL THE SMALL BUSINESS REVOLVING LOAN FUND.
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE- HOUSE, Mar 20, 2025 | Agenda | 4 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge Chair
Unverified
Speaker 7
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
Speaker 19
Speaker 27
Mckenzie Forman
Unverified
Latoya Morgan
Unverified
Speaker 48
Speaker 52
Ben Washington
Unverified
Speaker 61
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
Speaker 70
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
Speaker 80
Speaker 87
Speaker 88
Speaker 89
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
Speaker 85
Speaker 109
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
Speaker 118
Chair
Unverified
Speaker 9
Representative Sonia Eubanks Barker
Unverified
Speaker 124
Speaker 132
Speaker 134
Representative Mark Perry
Unverified
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
Speaker 152
Speaker 164
Representative Jack Ladyman
Unverified
Speaker 127
Speaker 182
Speaker 186
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
Speaker 199
Speaker 200
Speaker 207
Speaker 215
Representative Dolly Henley
Unverified
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
Speaker 136
Speaker 254
Speaker 256
Speaker 14
Speaker 265
Representative Kendon Underwood
Unverified
Speaker 275
Speaker 274
Speaker 278
Speaker 277
Zach Gramli
Unverified
Speaker 293
Speaker 297
Speaker 300
Speaker 302
Speaker 308
Speaker 294