Insurance & Commerce- House
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Transcript
1 document
Bills discussed (40)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HB1307
Act 308
· 5 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…Tosh Rep. Jim Wooten REGULAR AGENDA Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1307 McAlindon TO ENSURE RESPONSIBLE FUND MANAGEMENT; AND TO AME…”
|
TO ENSURE RESPONSIBLE FUND MANAGEMENT; AND TO AMEND THE UNIFORM PRUDENT MANAGEMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS … | McAlindon | Notification that HB1307 is now Act 308 |
|
HB1405
Act 309
· 3 mentions in chapter, agenda, transcript
Matched: “HB1405 J. Richardson TO AMEND THE STATUTES CONCERNING PROCURERS; A…”
|
TO AMEND THE STATUTES CONCERNING PROCURERS; AND TO ADD ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF … | J. Richardson | Notification that HB1405 is now Act 309 |
|
HB1408
· 3 mentions in agenda, chapter, transcript
Matched: “…DISCLOSURE OF DEDUCTIBLES UNDER CERTAIN INSURANCE POLICIES. HB1408 Pilkington TO ALLOW QUALIFYING PATIENTS OR DESIGNATED CAREG…”
|
TO ALLOW QUALIFYING PATIENTS OR DESIGNATED CAREGIVERS TO PURCHASE MEDICAL MARIJUANA USING A FLEXIBLE SPENDING … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1009
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1009 A. Collins TO ALLOW PREGNANCY TO BE A QUALIFYING EVENT FOR…”
|
TO ALLOW PREGNANCY TO BE A QUALIFYING EVENT FOR ENROLLMENT IN CERTAIN HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1014
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1014 A. Collins TO REQUIRE COVERAGE OF IN VITRO FERTILIZATION UN…”
|
TO REQUIRE COVERAGE OF IN VITRO FERTILIZATION UNDER THE STATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOL LIFE AND … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1055
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…STATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOL LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM. HB1055 J. Mayberry TO ESTABLISH COVERAGE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT T…”
|
TO ESTABLISH COVERAGE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT TO SLOW THE PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE OR OTHER … | J. Mayberry | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1150
Act 624
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…STATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOL LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM. HB1150 J. Moore TO PROHIBIT A PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGER FROM OBTAI…”
|
TO PROHIBIT A PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGER FROM OBTAINING CERTAIN PHARMACY PERMITS. | J. Moore | Notification that HB1150 is now Act 624 |
|
HB1159
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS BY A TITLE AGENT AND A TITLE COMPANY. HB1159 J. Richardson TO CREATE THE RETAIL CONVENIENCE STORE SECURI…”
|
TO CREATE THE RETAIL CONVENIENCE STORE SECURITY ACT; AND TO REGULATE SECURITY MEASURES AT RETAIL … | J. Richardson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1184
Act 263
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1184 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE FAIR MORTGAGE LENDING ACT; AND TO P…”
|
TO AMEND THE FAIR MORTGAGE LENDING ACT; AND TO PROTECT A CONSUMER'S PRIVACY IN CERTAIN … | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1184 is now Act 263 |
|
HB1240
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1240 Andrews TO EXPAND ELIGIBILITY FOR COVERAGE UNDER THE STATE…”
|
TO EXPAND ELIGIBILITY FOR COVERAGE UNDER THE STATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOL LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE … | Andrews | Recommended for study in the Interim by the … |
|
HB1288
Act 423
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…CONSULTANT SERVICES. DEFERRED BILLS Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1288 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS HEALTH CARE CONSUMER ACT;…”
|
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS HEALTH CARE CONSUMER ACT; AND TO REQUIRE A HEALTHCARE INSURER TO … | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1288 is now Act 423 |
|
HB1290
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1290 L. Johnson TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS E…”
|
TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS EXAMINATIONS; AND TO ESTABLISH THE ARKANSAS SUPPORT OF … | L. Johnson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1295
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1295 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE HEALTHCARE COST-SHARING COLLECTION…”
|
TO CREATE THE HEALTHCARE COST-SHARING COLLECTIONS TRANSPARENCY ACT. | L. Johnson | Died in House at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1297
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1297 L. Johnson CONCERNING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ALGORITHMS,…”
|
CONCERNING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ALGORITHMS, AND OTHER AUTOMATED TECHNOLOGIES; AND TO REGULATE CERTAIN PRACTICES OF HEALTHCARE … | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1298
Act 307
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1298 L. Johnson TO MODIFY PAYMENT OF BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN HEALTH…”
|
TO MODIFY PAYMENT OF BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS UNDER A HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN. | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1298 is now Act 307 |
|
HB1299
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…LTHCARE PROVIDERS Page 2 of 3 UNDER A HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN. HB1299 L. Johnson TO PROHIBIT HEALTHCARE INSURERS FROM EXERCISING…”
|
TO PROHIBIT HEALTHCARE INSURERS FROM EXERCISING RECOUPMENT FOR PAYMENT OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES MORE THAN ONE … | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1300
Act 510
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1300 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE PRIOR AUTHORIZATION TRANSPARENCY AC…”
|
TO AMEND THE PRIOR AUTHORIZATION TRANSPARENCY ACT. | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1300 is now Act 510 |
|
HB1308
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1308 Steimel CONCERNING UNFAIR PRACTICES RELATED TO RESIDENTIAL…”
|
CONCERNING UNFAIR PRACTICES RELATED TO RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE REPAIR CONTRACTS; AND TO REGULATE SOLICITING RESIDENTIAL … | Steimel | Recommended for study in the Interim by the … |
|
HB1316
Act 390
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1316 F. Allen TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR LUNG CANCER SCREENINGS.”
|
TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR LUNG CANCER SCREENINGS. | F. Allen | Notification that HB1316 is now Act 390 |
|
HB1320
Act 626
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1320 Wooldridge TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CRISIS STABILIZATION…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CRISIS STABILIZATION UNITS AND HEALTHCARE INSURERS. | Wooldridge | Notification that HB1320 is now Act 626 |
|
HB1321
Act 513
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…CERNING CRISIS STABILIZATION UNITS AND HEALTHCARE INSURERS. HB1321 Wooldridge TO REGULATE STEP THERAPY AND FAIL FIRST PROTOCOL…”
|
TO REGULATE STEP THERAPY AND FAIL FIRST PROTOCOLS CONCERNING CERTAIN PRESCRIBED VENTILATORS. | Wooldridge | Notification that HB1321 is now Act 513 |
|
HB1333
Act 627
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1333 Hudson TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR BREASTFEEDING AND LACTATION…”
|
TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR BREASTFEEDING AND LACTATION CONSULTANT SERVICES. | Hudson | Notification that HB1333 is now Act 627 |
|
HB1409
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…TO REGULATE SECURITY MEASURES AT RETAIL CONVENIENCE STORES. HB1409 Long TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING ENERGY; AND TO CREATE THE E…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING ENERGY; AND TO CREATE THE ELECTRIC RELIABILITY ACT. | Long | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1424
Act 628
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1424 L. Johnson TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR SEVERE OBESITY TREATMENT…”
|
TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR SEVERE OBESITY TREATMENTS. | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1424 is now Act 628 |
|
HB1426
Act 569
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1426 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE HEALTHCARE CONTRACTING SIMPLIFICATI…”
|
TO AMEND THE HEALTHCARE CONTRACTING SIMPLIFICATION ACT. | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1426 is now Act 569 |
|
HB1466
Act 262
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1466 Achor TO AMEND THE FAIR MORTGAGE LENDING ACT.”
|
TO AMEND THE FAIR MORTGAGE LENDING ACT. | Achor | Notification that HB1466 is now Act 262 |
|
HB1509
Act 452
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1509 Beaty Jr. TO CREATE THE SECOND AMENDMENT FINANCIAL PRIVACY…”
|
TO CREATE THE SECOND AMENDMENT FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT; AND TO PROHIBIT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FROM USING … | Beaty Jr. | Notification that HB1509 is now Act 452 |
|
SB150
Act 234
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB150 B. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE STATE AND PUBLIC…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE STATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOL LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM; … | B. Johnson | Notification that SB150 is now Act 234 |
|
SB48
Act 246
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…THE USE OF A PROCURER BY A LICENSED CHIROPRACTIC PHYSICIAN. SB48 J. Boyd TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DISCLOSURE OF DEDUCTIBL…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DISCLOSURE OF DEDUCTIBLES UNDER CERTAIN INSURANCE POLICIES. | J. Boyd | Notification that SB48 is now Act 246 |
|
HB1177
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1177 M. Brown TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS FRANCHISE PRACTICES ACT; AND…”
|
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS FRANCHISE PRACTICES ACT; AND TO CLARIFY THE APPLICABILITY OF THE ARKANSAS … | M. Brown | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1294
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1294 L. Johnson TO ALLOW AN AMBULANCE SERVICE TO ORDER CERTAIN T…”
|
TO ALLOW AN AMBULANCE SERVICE TO ORDER CERTAIN TYPES OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES WITHOUT A REFERRAL … | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1296
Act 556
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1296 L. Johnson TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES PROV…”
|
TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES PROVIDED IN MOBILE UNITS. | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1296 is now Act 556 |
|
HB1301
Act 511
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1301 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE PRIOR AUTHORIZATION TRANSPARENCY AC…”
|
TO AMEND THE PRIOR AUTHORIZATION TRANSPARENCY ACT. | L. Johnson | Notification that HB1301 is now Act 511 |
|
HB1314
Act 512
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1314 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CERTAIN AUDITS OF HE…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CERTAIN AUDITS OF HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS; AND TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS … | Irvin | Notification that HB1314 is now Act 512 |
|
HB1367
Act 346
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1367 Warren TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS TITLE INSURANCE ACT; AND TO RE…”
|
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS TITLE INSURANCE ACT; AND TO REGULATE ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS BY … | Warren | Notification that HB1367 is now Act 346 |
|
HB1419
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “AGENDA (Revised 2/19/2025 @ 8:00 AM) Removed HB1419 and HB1420 House Committee on Insurance and Commerce Wednes…”
|
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE PLAN; AND TO REVISE THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR … | Steimel | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1420
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “AGENDA (Revised 2/19/2025 @ 8:00 AM) Removed HB1419 and HB1420 House Committee on Insurance and Commerce Wednesday, Februa…”
|
TO ENACT THE STATE INSURANCE DEPARTMENT'S GENERAL OMNIBUS AMENDMENT OF ARKANSAS INSURANCE CODE. | Steimel | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1443
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1443 Pilkington TO CREATE THE SECOND AMENDMENT FINANCIAL PRIVACY…”
|
TO CREATE THE SECOND AMENDMENT FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT; TO PROHIBIT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND PAYMENT NETWORKS … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1467
Act 557
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1467 Achor TO AMEND THE UNIFORM MONEY SERVICES ACT.”
|
TO AMEND THE UNIFORM MONEY SERVICES ACT. | J. Boyd | Notification that HB1467 is now Act 557 |
|
HB1488
Act 391
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1488 Wardlaw TO AMEND THE STANDARD NONFORFEITURE LAW FOR LIFE IN…”
|
TO AMEND THE STANDARD NONFORFEITURE LAW FOR LIFE INSURANCE; AND TO REQUIRE AN INSURER TO … | Wardlaw | Notification that HB1488 is now Act 391 |
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Speaker 1
0:08
For, um, We'll go ahead and call this meeting to order. a couple of housekeeping things I heard from Representative Johnson this morning. He may not make it actually, so it appears we will not be running any of his, even though he was planning to run though, so I don't think he's gonna make it, um, Representative Baker is informed that those two bills are not going to run today also. Is that correct, Representative? Um
So should be fairly, um, shouldn't be too time consuming today. And Reverend Pilkington, do you like to present your bill? Yes, sir. Go ahead and introduce yourself and start your presentation. Thank you.
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
0:51
Thank you committee Representative Aaron Pilkington, District 45. Today I have the honor of presenting a House bill 1408. It's a very simple bill with no opposition, basically just clarifies that you can use a health savings account to buy medical marijuana. You can already use health savings accounts and buy all sorts of various items related to your health. That's what the agent health and HSA stands for, so
we're just doing this to help help add some clarity and like I said, there's no opposition. I
Speaker 1
1:21
appreciate. good bet. Yeah Thank you, Representative Pilkington. It appears we have, um, some questions from the committee, Repent Lundstrom, you're recognized for a question. I'm
Representative Robin Lundstrum
Unverified
1:28
not sure I'm gonna be very artful or graceful about this, so. Why medical marijuana, um. Some of the things in marijuana have been proven to be useful. Some haven't, but. If it was important they'd be
purchasing it with their own money, correct? And probably are. Well, so
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
1:46
I purchased with my HSA contacts. Why would I, the HSA is my money. I mean, it's just into a health savings account and I hope the help with this is that we're actually having people be more thoughtful and plan about their expenses and utilizing these HSA accounts. I think HSAs are a vital part of making sure people are more personally responsible for their health care and so by adding this to it, people who may be younger and maybe use medical marijuana but don't have other healthcare expenses that
in the habit of using and putting money into an HSA is great, and as you know these roll over as well, so if they have excess money in that they can use it to pay for other healthcare expenses as well, um, so I think we're
Representative Robin Lundstrum
Unverified
2:25
just putting this on that and it is you're right, it is my money, it's your money. Um, I'm just wondering on a drug like this, if that's. A good idea or not. So I, I've
got a little bit of heartburn on this. I guess that's what I'm saying. Yeah, no, no, no, that's, that's
Speaker 8
2:37
understandable. I think, um, you know, once again, last session we talked about,
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
2:43
you know, we were allowing you to have your concealed carry and, and if you had your, had a medical marijuana card, that was a bill that we passed, and part of the reasoning behind that was, you know, you could have a prescription for an opioid or a prescription for other medication and still have can still carry, um, just like you could use this to help pay for drug costs, you know, if we're considering it medical, we use that once again, it is medical. You can't, you know, for some reason if recreational ever, you know, God forbid, became legal in this state, which is not something I support, um, you know, uh, you couldn't use this to purchase
Speaker 16
3:14
recreational or anything like that, so OK, thank you.
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
3:26
Thank you, Representative Lindstrom. Representatives, you have a question? Recognize. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative job, uh I think I understand where you're trying to go with this, but what are the check and balances to make sure that these caregivers, uh, aren't actually Using this avenue that you would create here for the for them to
be able to use this marijuana for their own personal use. What's your check and balances to make sure it's actually going to the patient. I'm
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
3:53
a little concerned about that. Um, Well, there's nothing, nothing in this bill related to that, but like with most caregivers, um, you know, if they're getting prescriptions, they're picking up those from the pharmacy. I mean, we assume that they're not taking the Percocet themselves, as you know, things like that could happen. They could have with this as well, but um that's with any sort of, uh, medication, uh, you always run
that risk, but there are for caregivers, there are things in place to make sure that that doesn't happen. And when it does,
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
4:23
we prosecute them. I understand that, and I understand what you're saying about the prescriptions and I, and I don't have a problem with that, but, you know, now we're talking about marijuana, so you know, I think that's just a far reach. I mean, making it available to caregivers and not being able to have some way to actually check and make sure that this is, that's not using
this to obtain it for their own personal use. I kind of, that kind of concerns me a little bit, especially uh with Be the uh, with it being what
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
4:58
it is, marijuana. I appreciate those concerns and like I said, just with a caregiver getting any sort of medication, um, from a pharmacy currently, you know, if they're in charge of the care for someone and using their HSA, uh, it could be you you you run that risk, so I don't think this is
in a way more dangerous than someone going and picking up a bottle of Vicodin and then taking that themselves instead of giving it to the person they're supposed to be a caregiver of, but we have, like I said, laws in place. We have uh, ways of, of taking care of that if something like that were to
Chair
Unverified
5:36
unfortunately happen. Thank you, Representative Tosh. Representative Baker, you're recognized for your
Representative Acker
Unverified
5:42
question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, thank you Robertilton for bringing this and to Representative Tasha's point, I do think that
um, you know, having served in the consulting space before in as a pharmacist for dispensaries. It is a primary cash business, is that correct? Most of the time? Yes. OK, so I'm actually very Pro bringing in some sort of traceable mechanism with which these transactions can actually be followed, moving away from a cash-based business in my mind, where you have an HSA where someone has to enroll, they have to meet certain requirements and then those transactions are actually more recordable, uh, in
my mind actually makes this more of a a safety net mechanism for the dispensing of those, wouldn't you agree? I would totally agree. Thank you, Representative Baker.
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
6:27
That's an excellent point. I forgot to mention. Thank you, Representative Baker. Any other questions
from the committee? See. Is there anyone here from the audience that would like to speak for or against this bill. See. Representative Pilin, would you like to close
your bill? I'm closing my bill. Thank you, committee. Thank you
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
6:46
for the questions. It was a great discussion. I appreciate it. What are the wishes of the
committee? That's a proper motion. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. No. Nos have it. Sorry Thank you. Representative McClendon, are you here?
Speaker 30
7:18
Would you like to present your bill? If you would.
Please go to the end table, recognize yourself and your And you're uh
Representative Mindy McAlindon
Unverified
7:32
recognized present your bill. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you committee. Representative Mindy McAloon, House District 10. I'm here to
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
7:38
present, um, House Bill 1307. It's a pretty straightforward bill. Basically, it's designed to ensure transparency and responsible management of endowments for Arkansas colleges and universities, um, you'll be familiar with these changes. It's very similar to the ESGN bill that Representative Wardlaw
ran last session, as well as the ESG and pensions bill that I ran last session. The singular goal of this bill is to protect institutional funds, or endowments, and it is to ensure that those funds are invested responsibly to maximize financial returns. And to prevent the misuse of those funds for political or social agendas that do not serve the interests of Arkansas taxpayers. To accomplish this, HB 1307 amends the uniform, Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act
affectionately known as UIA to prioritize financial responsibility by prohibiting investment decisions based on environmental, social, and governance, ESG goals, uh, that do not yield the best financial returns. So if the fun Has to be a climate fund, but it offers the best return the university is still allowed to invest in that. So again, we're prioritizing um the best financial return over any other reason for investing. Um, the bill also enhances transparency
and accountability by requiring documentation and justification for investments decisions that do deviate from the standard financial objectives, and it also requires uh just for people to review all of their accounts every year. In summary, HB 1307 reinforces the original tent of the national Aita, which are long term financial health donor trust and prudent financial management by ensuring that public funds are managed in the best interests of Arkansas citizens. I have spoken with you of A on this. They helped make
some tweaks to the bill and have no objections. And with that, I'd be happy
to take any questions. Are there any questions on the committee? Representative Richardson, recognized for your question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative McAlinden, the uh one of the points that reading through the bill, uh, I know you said that Representative Wardlaw ran a similar bill last session. Uh, and I'm trying to understand why do you think it's so necessary for us to do this with higher ed in terms of, of, I
understand the investment piece, but limiting and not dealing with companies who deal with DEI and those measurements. Do you think that's necessary, so that's not what
it says. Just to clarify. So it is, I think it's really important to protect our endowments. They are basically the future, right, of our colleges and our universities. So we want to make sure that we are solely investing to get the best financial. return and what this bill says is you can't, um, find the exact words. Um, you cannot invest solely with the purpose of
investing in a climate fund or in DEI or any of those types of things or ammunition either, right? So it, it says that if you find the best fun and it happens to be a climate fund or a gun fund, and it gives you the best return. You can invest in that. But you cannot invest with that sole purpose. We're just trying to return the best for this. Taxpayers. Do you think that's being done right now? I do not think that's being done right now. No, sir. OK, thank you. Any other questions from the committee?
See that as one of the audience that would like to speak for or against this bill. seen Representative you're allowed to close for your bill. I'm closed for my bill. Thank you. What are the wishes of the committee? pass. That's a proper motion. Any discussion on the motion. See none. All those in favor say aye. All those both say no. I have it. Congratulations McLyon, you passed your bill. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, committee.
Next up, Representative Richardson, are you prepared to Come down to the table if you would identify yourself. And uh you would uh you can go ahead and present your bill. should be getting an amendment. I do. I see an amendment here. You know, I wouldn't give it a little bit of time for y'all to take a look at it. Then we'll take a motion on it.
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
12:07
So you all should probably have a copy by now this amendment just adds two co-sponsors to the to the bill.
And with that, I asked for, um, do you pay for the amendment. That's proper
motion. Any discussion on the motion? See none. All those in favor of the amendment. So I, I, I always say no.
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
12:30
I just have it. You may proceed with your bill as amended. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Members, I presented to you a few weeks ago, uh, uh Bill
almost identical to this one, HB 1405. The difference with this bill is that I've taken the amendments and the recommendations that colleagues and uh other individuals have added and added those to this bill. If you guys just to remind you, the old bill, uh, for It was kind of open, said all medical people would have to wait 30 days. This one is more narrowly focused. It says chiropractors can't contact anybody in a vehicle accident for 14 days, so we've lessened the days. Uh, we've taken off
the felony and we've now given it a $500 fine. um, and remove some of the other language to make it more succinct attorney General's office feels like this is a good bill and they can defend, uh, and I've gotten, like I said, several comments from other. Members. I've also spoken to some uh chiropractic facility or chiropractors who are in favor of this bill and even asked for it to be stronger, uh, but this is a good balance of what I'm
trying to do and and what they need in this profession and with that I'll take questions. Any questions from the
committee? See none Is there anyone here in the audience who would like to speak for or against it. I do have some that have signed up to speak against this bill. Chris, Kathy, is that correct? If you would, please go to the end of the
table, identify yourself and you may proceed with your testimony. Thank you. You're welcome.
Chris Cathy
Unverified
14:12
Yeah, just. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee. My name is Chris Cathy. I'm here representing the Arkansas Chiropractic Society. Um, a little bit of history. I would like to talk about with this issue. In 1999, a very similar bill like this was passed. It was almost identical. It was a 30 day ban instead of 14, but other than that, and I have not seen the amendment, by the way, but you just add co-sponsors. That
was it. Got you, um, very similar, the AG's office thought they could defend it at that time as well, and it was overturned in 2001. So we feel like this will be litigated very quickly again and hopefully in our favor if it does pass, um. Between 2010 and 2013, our board of examiners received over 50 solicitation complaints a year on average, so this, this had become a problem at that point.
In 2013, the chiropractors got together and Passed Act 513 after 5:13 passed, complaints dropped to an average of 5 a year at our board for solicitation, OK, so that, that made a huge difference. In 2019, Representative Perry brought an update to our bill, and since then, in the 5.5 years since it went into effect, a total of 15 solicitation complaints have been filed with our board.
8 of those were against one group, and they are no longer in business, so it certainly had its effect at that point. Now that drops are, are average to 2.5 complaints a year. Of those 15 in the last 5.5 years, only 2 are consumer driven. The rest are DC's complaining about DC's to keep the competition in check. With that said, we don't see a problem here. Get a hold of the medical board and ask them how many complaints they have about this. You know,
we're, we're down to 2.5 a year on this specific issue. This has come up every session with the exception of one since 2000, um, since 2007. And here we are, um, The other point of contention here is why are DCs being picked out here. You have medical doctors, you have DOs, you have physical therapist and APRNs who run practices that do the same thing.
If we have a ban singling out chiropractors. This takes us totally out of the game. It is not a level playing field at that point, so we, we, on that point, if this does pass, we would sure like to take a look at adding all the other health care professions to this because this essentially puts the chiropractors who have these businesses, personal injury practices out of business. We have no leg to stand on and no way to compete. So please keep that in mind as well.
Um, my practice and I do have a personal injury practice. We have uh Offices across the state. I have 46 full-time employees and 22 contract employees. If this goes through and we're at such a competitive disadvantage, my offices will close, and these people will be laid off. I'm not the only one who does this, and I'm certainly not the biggest outfit in the state. So all of these jobs will be lost over an issue that's not even there. Uh,
The laws that are in place, the rules that are in place now work. We, we see that by the averages of the complaints year on year, and they keep coming down. You know, again, we, we ask that we not be picked out of the group of medical providers because again, we're not the only ones who do this. And I think there are some other people here signed up to testify that we'll back this up as well. I, I thank you for your time and any questions.
Yes, uh, Representative Allen, you're recognized for your question. Thank, thank you, Mr.
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
18:38
Chairman. If people are doing the right thing, and you said they're doing the right thing. Why is there a pushback? That's a good question. I do
Speaker 52
18:47
not understand it. And why is the pushback only against chiropractors, OK. Thank you. Representative Dalby, you recognized for your question.
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
19:03
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm just curious and, and I was reading the bill also a 2nd or 3rd time while you testified. How would this bill Eliminate your business if you're not, if you're not. Soliciting anyway. I mean you let me back
Chris Cathy
Unverified
19:22
up. We, we definitely are soliciting. As do most medical professions, but this puts us at a competitive disadvantage because it gives everybody else a two week head start on us.
Chair
Unverified
19:35
Interesting. Thank you. Representative Tosh, you recognize for
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
19:43
your question? Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was reading through the bill here
and it says that people involved in a motor vehicle accident. Would you just help me to understand how you obtaining that information for individuals that you're soliciting or you're reaching out to uh how do you go about that? I mean, to find out, how do you know who's been
involved in an accident to actually reach out and try to solicit them. Police reports. So you're doing that electronically or are you going into those law enforcement agencies. The ones who have them available electronically,
Chris Cathy
Unverified
20:20
obviously that's, that's the easiest way to go, but a lot of jurisdictions do not have them posted electronically. So you do, I'm just curious,
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
20:30
do you do that on a regular basis where you go into the law enforcement headquarters is
that, does that actually not uh tie up staff there? Do they furnish you the accident reports for that particular month and somebody had to sit there with you while you go through
Speaker 64
20:47
the report. No, sir, they don't sit there with us. They don't sit there with you. No, sir. And it's, you
Chris Cathy
Unverified
20:54
know, again, Let's expand this a little bit more. Going to get police reports. It's not just the health care professions. Every attorney who's involved in personal injury accidents goes to get police reports also. This is how the marketing is done to personal injury patients. For clients. And
Representative Acker
Unverified
21:17
Representative Acker, do you have a question? Your mic slit up. Yes, I do, Mr. Chair. Uh, thank you for your testimony. I'm certainly sympathetic to, um, having to compete in an unlevel playing field market, um. But ch Chiropractors do hold a unique position in healthcare already, is that correct? By unique, what, what, what do you mean? Well, you say that there's other healthcare providers that are competing in this market, but chiropractors offer a unique set of services that are not offered that is
correct. OK, so there is. And on level playing field that the market can lean towards you for the specific services that you offer that are not offered by an MD or an APRN or other areas. If someone's seeking chiropractic care, they're
Chris Cathy
Unverified
22:01
seeking chiropractic care. Yes, that's correct. We do like to get out to the general public or to our marketing. Focus what we do
Speaker 69
22:09
that sets us apart though. Right. And so It is,
Representative Acker
Unverified
22:14
it's, it's, it's a little difficult, neat thread through
the needle in that you're not, you are competing in this market, but you also have a unique service that you offer, so it's not something
Representative Acker
Unverified
22:37
rules. Appreciate the latitude, Mr. Chair. Um, so the center of my question is that, um, would you agree that the practice of uh chiroprac.
is unique in the services that you offer that other healthcare providers are not trained to provide, don't have the equipment to provide, and don't have the expertise to provide. There is some crossover because osteopaths can do what we do as well, right? OK. Well, again, I think that's kind of where I just try and give some clarity to it's not a we're competing because we're all equally Offering the same service sets you do have a, you do have a unique service that that you are marketing that is unique to
chiropractic practice. That's correct. Thank you.
Representative Zack Gramlich
Unverified
23:32
Thank you, Representative Baker. Representative Gramlich, you recognized for your question. Thank you. You mentioned that other other groups go out to these police
Speaker 68
23:39
stations to gather information. What are
Chris Cathy
Unverified
23:42
some of the other groups that do that? Well, like I said, medical doctors. Osteopaths, physical therapists especially, and APRNs have practices that deal with this
Representative Zack Gramlich
Unverified
23:52
specifically as well, and but I guess to Representative Baker's point, like your specific service dealing with, you know, um, your scope, I mean, besides osteopathic doctors who you say have a little crossover, no one else really has the same thing that you can do. So what are these other groups doing? They, they are. Trying to get the patients in the door, perspective patients in the door, and they're texting them and calling them. I mean, I guess, I guess, you know, my, my sister had a wreck last year and she didn't mention any of these other groups. It was lawyers and
chiropractors who were, were not lawyers but insurance companies and chiropractors that are giving our call. Nobody else, so that, that was just, that was news to me, I guess, um, yeah, thank you. I think
Chris Cathy
Unverified
24:33
to that point somebody who's signed up to talk about this will expound upon that a little bit. All right, any other
questions from the committee? CNN, thank you for your testimony. Thank you. I also have Freddie Ros, if I can spell or pronounce that last name correctly if you would please come to the end of the table.
Uh Freddie
Unverified
24:56
Recognize yourself, and you are allowed to proceed with your testimony. Hi OK, so my name is uh Freddie Ros, and I do transportation for Arkansas Chiropractor Group and uh What I was hearing about the bill that it would take 14 days before You know, they can make contact with a person who was in an accident.
14 days is a long time for me. In my business because I provide transportation on a daily basis. And this is how I take care of my family. And my mom started this business about 20 plus years ago working with Dr. Cathy. And 14 days is a lifetime for a person that has a family to take care of. I mean Without the business, I wouldn't even be here. Because my mom
rescued me with this job. You know, and that's all I get. It would put me basically behind the eight ball for his work. I can't wait 14 days for them to contact me to say, well, I got a person to pick up that was in an accident. Because I have bills that come every week. And it would just financially put me in a in a in a rut. So you know, it's just. I love my job. I love the people
I come in contact with, and most of the people that I do come in contact with. The goals, you know, people contact them, but a lot of my repeat visitors, you know. And they're out there searching for help because they don't know when they have an accident what to do. So, you know. I hope the
Speaker 82
26:48
bill doesn't pass because it will affect not only me but a lot of other people. So thank you for listening to me. Thank you for that testimony. Was there any questions from the
committee? Seeing none, thank you. Next up, I have Derrick Blake here to speak against the bill. If you would please come to the end of the table. Recognize yourself, and you may proceed with your
Derek Blake
Unverified
27:18
testimony. Good morning. My name is, uh, Mr. Chairman of the committee. My name is Derek Blake. I, um, on select Marketing Group. I've been doing this for about 25 years doing medical marketing. I just kind of wanted to give a uh testimony
as far as the marketing aspect of it. If you guys have any questions, but I think, uh, I really wanted to say firstly, uh, I believe the language that's tightening up the peculiar uh As far as the marketing aspect of it may need to, it was, I think it's been cleaned up by the, the chiropractic board. We, we weren't really governed by anyone at first, um. And when they they start making some changes and they came with a bunch of different um Uh, protocols and things that
the market has had to register and things like that. Uh, I think that really helped, uh, getting some of the bad actors out of the, the business, uh, but, but taking away a medical indus industry's ability to to communicate with with the potential uh clients as quickly as possible, I think. Uh, is overreach. Uh, I think Doctor Kathy covered pretty much. Pretty well, he, he basically read off my notes because we pretty much had the same thing, but I'll, I'll, if you guys have any questions, I'll uh I'll
answer any questions that you have as far as the marketing piece of
what we do. Yeah Thank you for that testimony, Representative
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
28:43
Doby, you're recognized for your question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do have a question because I'm not real familiar uh with this marketing, uh, that chiropractors do because fortunately, I haven't been in an accident where they've come after me trying to seek my business, but my question is, is there any kind of uh requirement or in marketing, um, for the services,
is there anything required that you have to have like, here's the hotline if you think that we've reached out. In error or if you think that, you know, we've overreached, is there anything saying you have a right to contact the chiropractic board and here's our website and here's our phone number so that um you know, somebody who's maybe at home, I don't know with whatever injuries and somebody comes knocking on their door or what have you. Is there anything that directs people to the
chiropractic board saying, if you have a problem with the way we reached out to you.
Derek Blake
Unverified
29:44
Here's who you need to contact. I believe the chiropractor Board has something on their website. Is that correct? They have something on the website, um, if you've been, if you felt like that uh it was overreach or someone um Um I would say kind of stepped over the line or whatever, uh, the chiropractor board does have something on their website and like I said all the marketers are governed by this chiropractic board. Um, they,
they pretty much, we have a script that's approved by the chiropractic board, um. And at any uh we're ready, everybody is registered, uh, everyone that I have, uh, 10 employees, everybody is registered with the Chiropractic Board.
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
30:23
And when you agree with me that maybe not everybody knows that a chiropractic board exists. I didn't. And, and I, I consider myself fairly astute in things, but maybe not. And so wouldn't you agree that maybe it
might be a good idea that people are, are told where they could file complaints as opposed to good luck. We hope maybe you might know or not know. Wouldn't you agree? Possibly,
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
30:53
yes, ma'am. Thank you. Representative McGrew, you're recognized for your question. Thank you, Chairman. In your marketing, so as I understand it, you're gathering this information from police reports or ambulance reports, and you're you're using it for personal injury attorneys and chiropractic. Yes, sir. What
other, what other organizations are you using it for other than those? Other than medical and medical, so you use it for pure medical doctor and not a chiropractic. What are you, because you're using it for chiropractor, you're using it for personal injuly attorneys. What else are you using it for? I'm employed by medical doctors. I'm employed by APRNs. Excuse me, I didn't ask who you were employed by. Ask who you're gathering this information from police reports. Is that correct? Yes. So, you're using that information.
For chiropractors. And personal inventories. Are you using it for medical therapist and, and all that. Yes, sir. My my company only does medical. personal injury. OK, so not just for chiropractors. Yes, sir. So you're not, so you're only using it for personal injury. So you said the car through the attorneys, not really through medical facilities. So doctors' organization, physical therapy and all are not paying you.
To do the marketing for them. Yes, they are. That's what my, my services. That's the service we provide. If I'm answering the question, I'm I'm so you're taking the information specifically from the police report and marking it to physical therapist. Yes, sir. OK. Thank you. OK. Representative Tosh, you recognized for
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
32:34
your question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The marketing aspect of it, would you agree with me that there's probably a lot of
individuals that, uh, I mean, they know whether they need medical treatment. They know whether they need to see a chiropractor and uh but when they received that call or that solicitation, then maybe they end up going because somebody actually convinced them, hey, maybe you need to come in, you need to see us. We need to treat you. Would you agree that there's probably a lot of people that end up going to see the doctor that may not have ever gone because of
that phone call or that text message or because of your marketing expertise would, would you agree with that? I think it's a
Speaker 87
33:19
lot of people that would. Ignore the injuries. And
Speaker 94
33:25
settle with the insurance company and just say, hey, I'm hurt, but I don't have time
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
33:30
to do it, but you know. Well, my concern is solicitation like that would actually convince some individuals to make that someone else is making a decision for them, hey, maybe we need to go ahead and go
in and get this done or this done, and you know when that starts happening, then they see a way to do that driving up insurance costs. Would you agree that's a possibility. It's a possibility. Uh, I think
Derek Blake
Unverified
33:54
that When the attorney sends the the mail out. We have a So you take away the 14, you, you put the 14 days in place. And the attorney sends this mail out. And they get you in to sign up with an attorney. The first thing the attorney is
going to do is send you to a doctor. So what's the difference? Because he doesn't have a settlement. Without you going to
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
34:23
the doctor. I couldn't agree with that more, but my concern is not just with the solicitation from the chiropractor. My concern is solicitation from attorneys or anyone that's reaching out to people to do that, you know, those are individual decisions that people need to make, and sometimes they'll make the wrong decision because they've been
You know, encouraged to do so by those text messages, phone calls, or whatever communication they receive. So it does my, my concern doesn't just lie with the chiropractors. I don't think anybody should be doing that, whether you're a, uh, an attorney or who you are reaching out to these individuals and kind of catching at a time of their vulnerability because they've just been involved in an accident and and again, I'll go back to the original question I asked
earlier, not even in, doesn't even take into consideration the fact that law enforcement has to spend a lot of time with people going through these accident reports and and I know that for a fact, and I've lived there, so I, I've watched this play out. So, yeah, that's my concerns. It's not just with, you know, with the chiropractors, it extends a lot further than that, so I just want to make that clear. Representative Warren, you're
recognized for your question. What percentage of your Business is
Representative Les Warren
Unverified
35:53
just chiropractors and what percentage of your business is personal injury lawyers. Chiropractors would probably be about 70% of the business that I
Speaker 87
36:06
have. Personal injury lawyers. Well, personal injury lawyers, they don't.
Derek Blake
Unverified
36:18
They're not supposed to solicit, so yeah, yeah, so I don't, um. So 70% chiropractors. I have a, I have a portion in my business where I just obtain information. And I don't mark it, so they would come in where I obtain that information and that information is is given to the attorneys. OK. Representative Acker, you recognized for your question. was true. Thank you for your testimony and clarifying some of
Representative Acker
Unverified
36:48
the operational aspects of this, um, do you guys have um protections in place to honor do not solicit, do not call, do all those things that people may be on certain lists with other solicitors. Do you guys have? In place to prevent that or do you guys, is that not something that you can police in this time frame. It's
Derek Blake
Unverified
37:07
policed through to the chiropractic board. Uh, when, when you say you are, are you meaning to interfere? I mean your company when you go to uh pitch a a campaign, I guess,
Representative Acker
Unverified
37:18
is that the best way to describe it? Or do you have any internal measures to make sure that you're not campaigning towards individuals who are on do not call lists, do not solicit. Do you have your own internal ways of making that happen. Yes, we
Derek Blake
Unverified
37:30
do throughout our company uh if we have someone that that uh basically asks not to be contacted again. We put them on a list and that goes through follows an initial contact. I'm saying proactively. Do you have
Speaker 102
37:39
any way of knowing if someone is already not wanting to be, I don't, I don't have a way of knowing who's not who's on a
Speaker 94
37:46
do not call list as far as before I contact him.
Representative Acker
Unverified
37:53
Would you agree that that That's a little A disconcerting if you're marketing your service as being able to campaign to people who are wanting to be campaigned to, you don't have anything in place that says that I can't guarantee that we won't be campaigning to get two people who
Speaker 102
38:10
have already prospectively asked to not be campaigned. Yeah, I wouldn't have any way of knowing the date. They
Derek Blake
Unverified
38:16
wouldn't, would not like to be contacted, but you're saying the chiropractic board has something in place currently. They have something after the fact because
I think once you make a complaint or whatever, it
Representative Acker
Unverified
38:28
goes on a list. I'm thinking. OK, so when would it be the only way to be prevented from future contact is to having contacted not. Find an issue with that, file a
Derek Blake
Unverified
38:36
complaint, and then you're no longer able to be contacted. I don't have any way of knowing what's uh what's a do not contact list before I contact them or through the chiropractic board. OK, thank you. Representative Graham look you recognize
Representative Zack Gramlich
Unverified
38:49
for your question. Thank you very much. OK, so you, you've worked with personal
entry lawyers and you work with chiropractors. Do you market the same way for both groups like you, I mean, how, how does a personal injury lawyer connect with potential clients a chiropractor connect with potential I don't personally market for personal injury. You just passed the data to them, OK, and the data you can pile the data you give it to them and they do what they want with it, but I mean, it seems to me in this world like uh personal injury lawyers, they can't. They can't call. They can't text. They can't do any of that stuff, correct? as far as I'm aware but chiropractors
currently are allowed to, so this would just put chiropractors on the same playing field as our personal injury lawyers who operate in the same field.
Derek Blake
Unverified
39:32
Uh, like the Andrew Larius, but as you, when you go back to the medical side, you're putting the chiropractors at a disadvantage because they're the only ones that
Representative Zack Gramlich
Unverified
39:40
cannot market. Well, I mean, I talked to Arkansas Medical Society before this. They're neutral against the bill, but they also said that, you know, MDs to their knowledge have never done what you've said they're done. They don't, they don't go after that, and I could be wrong on that, but that's what they've told me. I have MDs
as my, I have a few MD clients, so. I mean, I guess they're not part of the Arkansas medical Society then. Representative
Allen, you recognize for your question. OK. OK. A little miscommunication there. Thank you. Are there any other um questions from the committee. Seeing none, thank you for your testimony. Is there anyone else here to speak for or against this bill? Thank Yes, sir, you're recognized. If you would please come to the end
of the table, recognize yourself. You give your testimony. Thank you,
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
40:31
Mr. Chairman. I'm Robbie Wills. um. I testified a couple of weeks ago with the previous bill. I just want to add a couple of things because I've had a situation come up in those 3 weeks. Many of you know I was in a fairly serious car accident on January 30th, and I can tell you, and I'm testifying as an individual constituent in Arkansan. I can tell you I've been contacted by zero
chiropractors in the last 3 weeks. I've been contacted by no fewer than 8 attorneys who are willing to represent me should I want representation. I've been contacted by about a dozen car dealers who would love to sell me a new car. I don't know how they found me. I don't, it doesn't matter to me. It didn't. Was it aggravating? Not really. My point to you is, What's the justification for this bill? What are we trying to fix here? The testimony you've heard today, we're not getting complaints at the board anymore
because Act 513 fixed this. The people that testified here today are the good guys. They're the ones following the law. The law says you can't lie to somebody. You can't knock on their door and say, I'm from your insurance company, go see Dr. Cathy. They can't say that. They can say we're sorry for your accident. I represent Dr. Cathy. If you'd like to come in, we're available. So they're advising them that services are available, which some people don't appreciate, but some people do. So when Dr. Cathy sends one of these fine gentlemen out to contact somebody. All they're doing is
is informing them that they have options. I understand the argument about, well, if people go see the doctor, that's going to drive up insurance costs, but I would say the public policy should weigh in the favor of people getting the coverages that they've paid premiums for every month, and if they are in an accident, no one wants to be in an accident. I didn't want to be in an accident, but if they are in an accident and they go to a healthcare provider to get checked out, whether it be a chiropractor or a DO or an MD. That's the benefit of the bargain that they made. So I ask
again, What's the justification for the bill. Everything complained about on the previous bill, we didn't have any testimony today about this. All of those things are against the law already, thanks to folks like Representative Perry at 5:13 didn't make it a $500 fine. It made it a felony. You can go to prison if you knock on the door and do some of the things that have been described as a justification for this bill. So I ask you, who benefits from this bill? trial lawyers. I say that as a
former trial lawyer. I got over it. It got better, but I used to be a trial lawyer, and for a long period of time, I represented the trial lawyers. So I know, I know from which I speak. If you get to the person first, you sign them up as a client. All this bill does is takes the chiropractors off the playing field and leads a clean shot for the 8 trial lawyers who wanted to represent me. And I will tell you this, thank God, 20 days later, I am much better. I don't need to go see anybody about my health care needs. So if
somebody says, well, we need to wait 14 days before you can contact them. You know, my, my need has passed or has been met by somebody else. So all we're doing is discriminating against chiropractors with this bill and saying they can't make contact for 14 days. I would submit to you that we do have laws on the books now. Let's enforce them. We do have a do not call list. If you call somebody that's not on the do not call list, there are consequences. We have a deceptive Trade Practices Act. If you violate the deceptive
trade Practices Act doing anything, including some of the things we've talked about. There are consequence. At 5:13 has specific consequences for chiropractors. I would submit to you that this bill is well-intentioned. But we've got laws on the books, and we hear that all the time, particularly in terms of the Second Amendment. We don't need new laws. We need to enforce the laws that are on the books, and I know this committee, like everybody, That I've ever worked with in this building holds our Constitution sacrosanct, and I'm just asking you to give the same due consideration to your First
Amendment right to truthfully speak commercially is protected by the First Amendment that we do with every other amendment and the text itself of the. Happy to answer
any questions. All right, uh, Representative Allen, you're recognized for your
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
44:48
question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman Robbie, thank you for being here and thankfully you were not injured. severely in your accident, but I do have a question. You said that
Speaker 107
44:58
you had approximately 8 lawyers to contact you. Did you report those 8 lawyers
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
45:02
I didn't because the testimony last time
was that lawyers can't do this, and there, there have been rules put in place. They're not enforced. They're unenforceable. They're unconstitutional. The US Supreme Court has said so very clearly. If you haven't read the Central Hudson case, I know that. put my lawyer hat on, but that probably hurts me, but I would encourage you to read the holding in the Central Hudson case that explains All of that. So thank you. Any other questions from the committee? See no. Thank you for your testimony.
Representative Richard, you ready to close your bill?
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
45:38
Yes, sir. I just wanted to highlight a couple of points that were made through the testimony of One of the things that is clear is that if you are currently a customer or a client of one of these, uh, doctors, chiropractors, you still can go back and reach them or they can reach you if you're already a current client. It didn't they have that ability to do that, um.
Yeah, and the other piece is, as, as we know, Most ordinary people don't know that they have to contact a board to file a complaint when these guys come knocking out the door. I mean, they just don't know it. It isn't that they don't want to do it. They don't know to do it. Uh, and what this bill does is it provides some protections for that and um you know, I, I, I, I'm, I'm hard pressed to think that removing or waiting two weeks to contact somebody uh who's gonna run businesses out, uh, so with
that, I'm closed and as a member of the committee, I moved to pass.
Is that a motion as amended to pass? Yes, as amended. That is a proper motion. Any discussion on the
motion? See none. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say no. Eyes have it. Congratulations, Representative Richmond. Your bill's passed. Any other bills that need to come before this committee today.
Agenda
REGULAR AGENDA
HB1307 McAlindon TO ENSURE RESPONSIBLE FUND MANAGEMENT; AND TO AMEND THE UNIFORM PRUDENT MANAGEMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS ACT (2006).
HB1308 Steimel CONCERNING UNFAIR PRACTICES RELATED TO RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE REPAIR CONTRACTS; AND TO REGULATE SOLICITING RESIDENTIAL CONTRACTORS AND TREE TRIMMERS.
HB1405 J. Richardson TO AMEND THE STATUTES CONCERNING PROCURERS; AND TO ADD ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF A PROCURER BY A LICENSED CHIROPRACTIC PHYSICIAN.
SB48 J. Boyd TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DISCLOSURE OF DEDUCTIBLES UNDER CERTAIN INSURANCE POLICIES.
HB1408 Pilkington TO ALLOW QUALIFYING PATIENTS OR DESIGNATED CAREGIVERS TO PURCHASE MEDICAL MARIJUANA USING A FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT OR A HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT.
SB150 B. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE STATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOL LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM; AND TO AMEND THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS DIVISION.
HB1424 L. Johnson TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR SEVERE OBESITY TREATMENTS.
HB1426 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE HEALTHCARE CONTRACTING SIMPLIFICATION ACT.
HB1443 Pilkington TO CREATE THE SECOND AMENDMENT FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT; TO PROHIBIT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND PAYMENT NETWORKS FROM USING CERTAIN DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES; AND TO PROVIDE FOR ENFORCEMENT OF VIOLATIONS.
HB1184 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE FAIR MORTGAGE LENDING ACT; AND TO PROTECT A CONSUMER'S PRIVACY IN CERTAIN MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS.
HB1466 Achor TO AMEND THE FAIR MORTGAGE LENDING ACT.
HB1467 Achor TO AMEND THE UNIFORM MONEY SERVICES ACT.
HB1488 Wardlaw TO AMEND THE STANDARD NONFORFEITURE LAW FOR LIFE INSURANCE; AND TO REQUIRE AN INSURER TO PAY INTEREST ON DEFERRED PAYMENT OF ANY CASH SURRENDER VALUE UNDER CERTAIN POLICIES.
HB1509 Beaty Jr. TO CREATE THE SECOND AMENDMENT FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT; AND TO PROHIBIT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FROM USING CERTAIN DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES.
PENDING FISCAL IMPACT
Number Sponsor Subtitle
HB1009 A. Collins TO ALLOW PREGNANCY TO BE A QUALIFYING EVENT FOR ENROLLMENT IN CERTAIN HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS.
HB1014 A. Collins TO REQUIRE COVERAGE OF IN VITRO FERTILIZATION UNDER THE STATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOL LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM.
HB1055 J. Mayberry TO ESTABLISH COVERAGE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT TO SLOW THE
PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE OR OTHER DEMENTIA-RELATED DISEASE UNDER THE STATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOL LIFE AND HEALTH
INSURANCE PROGRAM.
HB1150 J. Moore TO PROHIBIT A PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGER FROM OBTAINING CERTAIN PHARMACY PERMITS.
HB1240 Andrews TO EXPAND ELIGIBILITY FOR COVERAGE UNDER THE STATE AND PUBLIC
SCHOOL LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM TO CERTAIN VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS.
HB1290 L. Johnson TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS EXAMINATIONS; AND TO ESTABLISH THE ARKANSAS SUPPORT OF MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS EXAMINATIONS ACT.
HB1294 L. Johnson TO ALLOW AN AMBULANCE SERVICE TO ORDER CERTAIN TYPES OF
HEALTHCARE SERVICES WITHOUT A REFERRAL FROM A PHYSICIAN; AND TO MANDATE INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR AN AMBULANCE SERVICE TO ORDER CERTAIN TYPES OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES.
HB1295 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE HEALTHCARE COST-SHARING COLLECTIONS ACT.
HB1296 L. Johnson TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES PROVIDED IN MOBILE UNITS.
HB1316 F. Allen TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR LUNG CANCER SCREENINGS.
HB1320 Wooldridge TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CRISIS STABILIZATION UNITS AND HEALTHCARE INSURERS.
HB1321 Wooldridge TO REGULATE STEP THERAPY AND FAIL FIRST PROTOCOLS CONCERNING CERTAIN PRESCRIBED VENTILATORS.
HB1333 Hudson TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR BREASTFEEDING AND LACTATION CONSULTANT SERVICES.
DEFERRED BILLS
Number Sponsor Subtitle
HB1288 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS HEALTH CARE CONSUMER ACT; AND TO REQUIRE A HEALTHCARE INSURER TO MAKE CERTAIN RETROACTIVE PAYMENTS TO A
PROVIDER UPON CREDENTIALING OF A PROVIDER.
HB1297 L. Johnson CONCERNING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ALGORITHMS, AND OTHER
AUTOMATED TECHNOLOGIES; AND TO REGULATE CERTAIN PRACTICES OF HEALTHCARE INSURERS.
HB1298 L. Johnson TO MODIFY PAYMENT OF BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS
UNDER A HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN.
HB1299 L. Johnson TO PROHIBIT HEALTHCARE INSURERS FROM EXERCISING RECOUPMENT FOR PAYMENT OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES MORE THAN ONE YEAR AFTER THE PAYMENT FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES WAS MADE.
HB1300 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE PRIOR AUTHORIZATION TRANSPARENCY ACT.
HB1301 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE PRIOR AUTHORIZATION TRANSPARENCY ACT.
HB1314 L. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CERTAIN AUDITS OF HEALTHCARE
PROVIDERS; AND TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAL AUDIT BILL OF RIGHTS ACT.
HB1367 Warren TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS TITLE INSURANCE ACT; AND TO REGULATE ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS BY A TITLE AGENT AND A TITLE COMPANY.
HB1159 J. Richardson TO CREATE THE RETAIL CONVENIENCE STORE SECURITY ACT; AND TO REGULATE SECURITY MEASURES AT RETAIL CONVENIENCE STORES.
HB1409 Long TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING ENERGY; AND TO CREATE THE ELECTRIC RELIABILITY ACT.
HB1177 M. Brown TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS FRANCHISE PRACTICES ACT; AND TO CLARIFY THE APPLICABILITY OF THE ARKANSAS FRANCHISE PRACTICES ACT.
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — INSURANCE & COMMERCE- HOUSE, Feb 19, 2025 | Agenda | 3 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Speaker 1
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
Representative Robin Lundstrum
Unverified
Speaker 8
Speaker 16
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
Chair
Unverified
Representative Acker
Unverified
Representative Trey Steimel Chair
Unverified
Speaker 30
Representative Mindy McAlindon
Unverified
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
Chris Cathy
Unverified
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
Speaker 52
Representative Carol Dalby
Unverified
Speaker 64
Speaker 69
Speaker 70
Representative Zack Gramlich
Unverified
Speaker 68
Uh Freddie
Unverified
Speaker 82
Derek Blake
Unverified
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
Speaker 87
Speaker 94
Representative Les Warren
Unverified
Speaker 102
Speaker 107