Overview
Arkansas maintains a statewide all-payer claims database, established under the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative Act of 2015 which mandates collection of medical, dental, pharmacy, and other insurance claims information, including enrollment and provider data, from various entities.
Arkansas was also among the first states to recognize the benefits of telemedicine when it passed the Telemedicine Parity Law in 2015, requiring that a health benefit plan provide coverage and reimbursement for healthcare services provided through telemedicine on the same basis as health services provided in person. Since the coronavirus pandemic, the state further amended telemedicine laws to permanently extend emergency measures enacted for the duration of the pandemic that allows providers to treat patients via telehealth without first conducting an in-person exam.
To promote competition and limit market power in provider markets, Arkansas enacted the Healthcare Contracting Simplification Act in 2019, which prohibits the use of most-favored nation and all-products clauses in provider-insurer contracts. The state additionally requires court approval of mergers involving certain public benefit or religious corporations.
Arkansas also leads the nation in the regulation of pharmacy benefit managers in the pharmaceutical industry. The Arkansas Pharmacy Benefits Manager Licensure Act of 2018 addresses the lack of transparency among PBMs by placing comprehensive licensure and oversight over PBMs, as well as banning PBM “gag clauses” that prevent pharmacists from discussing the total price of a drug or cheaper alternatives. Another PBM law, however, became the subject of a Supreme Court case (Rutledge v. PCMA) that may have lasting impact for state regulation of healthcare prices. Act 900 (SB 688) was originally enacted in 2015 and required the disclosure of generic drug pricing and set a floor on prices that PBMs can pay to pharmacies for generic drugs. The drug pricing law was challenged by PCMA on the grounds of ERISA preemption and was struck down by the District Court of Arkansas in 2017 and affirmed by the 8th Circuit on appeal. The Supreme Court, however, overturned the decision and upheld the state law as permissible price regulation under ERISA.
See below for an overview of existing Arkansas state mandates. Click on citation tab for detailed information of specific statutes (click link to download statute text).
State Action
Latest Legislative Session: 1/9/2023 - 3/10/2023 (2023 term). *Current session bill updates are ongoing. Check back weekly for updates.
HB 1010 (see companion bill SB 2) – Arkansas
Introduced: 2018 Status: Enacted
THE ARKANSAS PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGER LICENSURE ACT: Beginning September 2018, this law requires pharmacy benefits managers to become licensed, file an annual statement about its sales and contracts within the state, and provide a report …
HB 1063 – Arkansas
Introduced: 2021 Status: Enacted
To Amend The Telemedicine Act; To Authorize Additional Reimbursement For Telemedicine Via Telephone; And To Declare An Emergency.
HB 1064 – Arkansas
Introduced: 2021 Status: Inactive / Dead
To Promote Price Transparency In Reimbursement Of Hospitals By Insurers; To Establish The Disclosure Of Reimbursement Rates For Hospitals Act; And To Require Disclosure By An Insurer Of Reimbursement Rates For Hospitals.
HB 1068 – Arkansas
Introduced: 2021 Status: Enacted
To Clarify The Telemedicine Act; To Specify That The Home Of A Patient May Be An Originating Site For Telemedicine And That Group Meetings May Be Performed Via Telemedicine; And To Clarify Reimbursement Of Telemedicine …
HB 1103 – Arkansas
Introduced: 2019 Status: Inactive / Dead
To Repeal The Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative Act Of 2015; And To Repeal The Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative Fund.
Ark. Code § 23-69-142. Mergers and consolidations and acquisition by exchange of stock: Domestics Stocks and Mutual Insurers—General Provisions – Arkansas
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Outlines requirements for mergers of stock insurers (as opposed to mutual insurers)
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Ark. Code § 23-69-143. Mutual insurers mergers, consolidations: Domestic Stock and Mutual Insurers: General Provisions – Arkansas
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Outlines requirements for mergers of mutual insurers (as opposed to stock insurers)
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Ark. Code § 23-69-144. Merger, consolidation–Agreement, plan: Domestic Stock and Mutual Insurers: General Provisions – Arkansas
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Outlines requirements for merger agreement/plan
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Ark. Code § 23-69-145. Merger or consolidation–Outcome: Domestic Stock and Mutual Insurers: General Provisions – Arkansas
Introduced: Status: Enacted
What happens when a merger is successful
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Ark. Code § 23-69-313. Mergers and acquisitions: Mutual Insurance Holding Company – Arkansas
Introduced: Status: Enacted
When a mutual insurance holding company is authorized to merge in AR
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In re: Suboxone Antitrust Litigation (State of Wisconsin, et al. v. Indivior Inc, et al.) – Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
District Court: E.D. Pennsylvania Status: Pending
In September 2016, 35 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia brought a multi-district case against pharmaceutical manufacturer Indivior, MonoSol RX et al., alleging …
In Re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation – Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania Status: Pending
Plaintiffs are attorney generals from 48 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, as well as classes of private plaintiffs that filed an antitrust …
Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) v. Rutledge – Arkansas
District Court: Eastern District of Arkansas Status: Decided
Act 900 (SB 688), enacted in 2015, required disclosure of generic drug pricing and sets a floor on prices that PBMs can pay to pharmacies …
Additional Resources
STATE BUDGET
Arkansas enacts budgets on a two-year cycle, beginning July 1 of each odd-numbered year and is valid through June 30 of the following year. To view Arkansas’ Department of Health Budget, click here.
KEY RESOURCES