Title 20 — Public Health and Welfare

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Human Services and the deputy director shall pay each participating pharmacist for each prescription filled under this program the pharmacist's usual and customary charge to the general public for the drug. (b) However, until existing federa…

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Human Services and the deputy director are directed to seek approval by the United States Department of Health and Human Services of the provisions of this subchapter so as to qualify this program for maximum contributions from the United St…

Drugs dispensed under the Arkansas Medicaid Program provided for in this subchapter shall, so far as possible, be prescribed and dispensed as generic drugs.

(a) The Arkansas Medicaid Program shall allow an adult beneficiary to have six (6) prescriptions per month. (b) Prescriptions issued under the program shall be renewed at time intervals consistent with and no stricter than state and federal laws. (c) The program shall not count a…

(a) No more than two (2) years before making any changes to the current pharmaceutical dispensing fee, the Department of Human Services shall conduct an independent survey utilizing generally accepted accounting principles to determine the cost of dispensing a prescription by pha…

(a) As used in this section, “respiratory syncytial virus disease” means a respiratory infection of the nose, throat, and lungs caused by the respiratory syncytial virus. (b) The Arkansas Medicaid Program shall reimburse an administration fee that is equal to one hundred percent …

(1) In establishing and maintaining the formulary and preferred drug list for the Arkansas Medicaid Program, the Department of Human Services shall ensure that a non-opioid drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration with no therapeutic equivalent for the trea…

For the purpose of this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the term “ocular practitioner” shall include all persons licensed under the Arkansas Medical Practices Act, § 17-95-201 et seq., § 17-95-301 et seq., and § 17-95-401 et seq., and all persons licensed under…

(a) Nothing in this subchapter shall apply to any person who personally takes, carries, or transports a person with an injured or cut eye due to a current accidental injury or current trauma to any physician or surgeon licensed under the Arkansas Medical Practices Act, § 17-95-20…

Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to enlarge or diminish the practice of optometry as defined by law in § 17-90-101.

(a) Any person violating this subchapter shall be guilty of a violation and upon conviction shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00). (b) Each violation shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as s…

(a) The circuit courts of this state having general equity jurisdiction are vested with jurisdiction and power to enjoin any violation of this subchapter by complaint by any resident or state board of this state in the county in which the alleged violation of this subchapter occu…

(a) Every person eligible for an eye examination, the payment for which shall or may be made out of public money, is guaranteed his or her freedom of choice between persons licensed under the laws governing the practice of optometry, § 17-90-101 et seq., and persons licensed unde…

(a) When expending public money for any purpose involving human eye examinations or the care of vision or examinations for the correction or relief of any visual or muscular anomaly of the eye, any state board, agency, commission, department, or political subdivision, or any empl…

The recommendation or naming of any particular ocular practitioner or group of ocular practitioners, professional association or firm, corporation, or association by any state employee or member of any state board, commission, department, political subdivision, or public school e…

It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide a method of assisting those persons within the state who as a result of personal injury, disability, or other medical condition are in need of supplemental benefits to improve or maintain reasonable quality-of-life standards. To…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Allowable expense” means charges incurred for needed products, services, and accommodations, including, but not limited to, medical care, rehabilitation, rehabilitative occupational training, and other remedial treatment and care;(2) “Beneficia…

(a) There is created in the State Treasury a revolving fund to be designated the “Special Needs Trust Revolving Fund”. The fund shall be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal year limitations, and shall consist of:(1) All moneys received from those individuals who desire to es…

(a) The cotrustees of the Special Needs Trust Revolving Fund are hereby given complete discretion as to the expenditure of principal and income of the Special Needs Trust Revolving Fund for the purposes set forth in this subchapter, not to exceed all of the income earned by the f…

(a) Benefits shall not be awarded:(1) Unless the claim has been filed with the cotrustees of the Special Needs Trust Revolving Fund after the injury, disability, or medical condition exists; or(2) If any governmental entitlement or insurance program provides comparable benefits t…

(a) Any person filing a claim under the provisions of this subchapter shall be deemed to have waived any physician-patient privilege as to communications or records relevant to an issue of the physical, mental, or emotional conditions of the claimant. (b) If the mental, physical,…

Each local office of the Department of Human Services shall keep application forms prepared and provided by the cotrustees of the Special Needs Trust Revolving Fund and make them available to any person upon request.

(1) The following information, when submitted to the cotrustees of the Special Needs Trust Revolving Fund as part of an application, shall be confidential:(1) Documents submitted by a claimant which relate to medical treatment; and(2) Investigative reports, if confidential under …

(a) (1) (A) The cotrustees of the Special Needs Trust Revolving Fund shall have the power to award benefits if satisfied by a preponderance of the evidence that the requirements for benefits have been met.(B) The cotrustees shall have authority to award the benefits either to the…

The cotrustees of the Special Needs Trust Revolving Fund shall prepare and transmit annually a report of their activities to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services. This report shall include the amount of benefits paid and a statistical summary of claims and benefits m…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Home intravenous drug therapy services” means the items and services described in subdivision (1)(B) of this section furnished to an individual who is under the care of a physician in a place of residence used as the individual's home, by a…

(a) The Medicaid payment shall not exceed an amount equal to the lesser of the qualified provider's usual and customary charges for such services or the reimbursement schedule established under subsection (b) of this section when determined medically necessary by the Arkansas Med…

(a) The referring physician prescribing the home intravenous therapy shall be entitled to Medicaid payment for certain clinical management services determined by the Department of Human Services. (b) The schedule of physicians' fees for these services shall not exceed on a per di…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no payment for home intravenous drug therapy services shall be made to any provider in which a physician or a physician's immediate family member has an ownership interest in the provider or in any situation where the phys…

When the home intravenous drug therapy medication must be administered by a licensed healthcare professional, the administration of this medication shall be provided by a licensed home health agency.

No person or entity shall sell intravenous drugs in this state or deliver the same into this state through the United States mail or a private carrier unless licensed by the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy.

No payment may be made under this subchapter for home intravenous drug therapy service which is provided in violation of this subchapter or which jeopardizes federal financial participation.

The provisions of this subchapter shall not be deemed to grant the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy any authority to regulate the practice of nursing in this state, and the practicing of nursing in this state shall remain the sole responsibility of the Arkansas State Board of Nur…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Arkansas Medicaid Program” means the program authorized under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq., that provides for payments for medical goods or services on behalf of indigent families with dependent children and of…

(1) A person shall be liable to the State of Arkansas, through the Attorney General, for restitution, damages, and a civil penalty for an act or omission in violation of this subchapter if he or she:(1) Knowingly makes or causes to be made any false statement or representation of…

(a) (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to commit any act prohibited by § 20-77-902, and any person found to have committed any such act or acts shall be liable to the State of Arkansas through the Attorney General.(2) In a case in which direct monetary loss does not exist or…

(a) If the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that a person has information or is in possession, custody, or control of any document or other tangible object relevant to an investigation or that would lead to the discovery of relevant information in an investigation…

(a) (1) (A) In any proceeding or investigation under this subchapter, if a person refuses to answer a question or produce evidence of any kind on the ground that he or she may be incriminated and if the Attorney General or prosecuting attorney requests the court in writing to ord…

(a) If the Attorney General determines that disclosure to the respondent of the evidence relied on to establish reasonable cause is not in the best interests of the investigation, he or she may request that the court examine the evidence in camera. If the Attorney General makes t…

(a) (1) A Medicaid provider or person providing healthcare goods or services under the Arkansas Medicaid Program is required to maintain all records at least for a period of five (5) years from the date of claimed provision of any goods or services to any Medicaid recipient.(2) (…

(a) Any action under this subchapter may be brought in Pulaski County Circuit Court or the county where the defendant or, in the case of multiple defendants, any one (1) defendant resides. (b) A civil action under this section may not be brought more than five (5) years after the…

(a) (1) Whenever it appears that any person is engaged in or intends to engage in the transfer, conversion, or destruction of assets, records, or property in an effort to avoid detection of violations of this subchapter or avoid paying restitution, fines, and civil penalties owed…

The Secretary of the Department of Human Services may suspend or revoke the provider agreement between the Department of Human Services and the person in the event that the person is found guilty of violating the terms of this subchapter.

(a) The court is authorized to pay a person sums, not exceeding ten percent (10%) of the aggregate collected civil penalty recovered, as it may deem just, for information the person may have provided that led to the detecting of false claims under this subchapter. (b) Upon dispos…

(a) Under this subchapter and the Medicaid Fraud Act, § 5-55-101 et seq., the Attorney General or a prosecuting attorney is entitled to recover reasonable and necessary expenses incurred during his or her investigations and prosecutions. (b) The Attorney General shall create and …