Title 23, Public Utilities and Regulated Industries

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome, also known as “PANS”, is a clinically defined disorder characterized by the sudden onset of obsessive-compulsive symptoms or eating restrictions, accompanied by two (2) or more symptoms of ac…

(a) The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has partnered with Arkansas Children's Hospital and the National Institute of Mental Health for the establishment and operation of a clinic that currently serves patients with pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome, als…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome, also known as “PANS”, is a clinically defined disorder characterized by the sudden onset of obsessive-compulsive symptoms or eating restrictions, accompanied by two (2) or more symptoms of ac…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Healthcare Payor Identification Card Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Health benefit plan” means an individual, blanket, or group plan, policy, or contract for healthcare services issued or delivered by a healthcare payor in this state.(B) “Health benefit plan” does not include workers' compensation plans, Me…

A healthcare payor shall issue an identification card to a member that provides an indication of whether the health benefit plan is insured, self-funded, or short-term, limited duration insurance.

A person having a claim for personal injury or property damage arising out of the use of a motor vehicle in a foreign country by another who, at the time of the injury or damage, was covered by a policy of automobile liability insurance with an insurer subject to the jurisdiction…

(a) An action may be maintained in the courts of this state by an insured or any other person on his or her behalf to recover on any claim or loss arising under a policy of insurance on property or life against the insurer issuing the policy or against the sureties on any bond fi…

(a) No insurance policy or annuity contract shall contain any condition, provision, or agreement which directly or indirectly deprives the insured or beneficiary of the right to trial by jury on any question of fact arising under the policy or contract. (b) All such provisions, c…

(a) An action brought in this state by or in behalf of the insured or beneficiary against an insurer as to a loss occurring or benefits or rights provided under an insurance policy or annuity contract shall be brought in either:(1) The county in which the loss occurred, or the in…

(a) In any suit brought in this state against an insurer, process may be served upon the insurer as follows:(1) As to domestic insurers, service of process may be had only in the manner as provided by the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure;(2) As to licensed foreign or alien insur…

(a) It shall be competent and proper in the trial of causes arising from death claims against insurers, accruing on account of death of the insured in foreign lands and while in the service of the United States Government as a member of the United States Armed Forces, to introduc…

In all actions against any insurer for any claim accruing, arising upon, or growing out of any fire insurance policy upon personal property issued by the insurer, proof of a substantial compliance with the terms, conditions, and warranties of the policy upon the part of the insur…

(a) (1) In all cases in which loss occurs and the cargo, property, marine, casualty, fidelity, surety, cyclone, tornado, life, accident and health, medical, hospital, or surgical benefit insurance company and fraternal benefit society or farmers' mutual aid association or company…

(a) In all suits in which the judgment or decree of a court is against a life, property, accident and health, or liability insurance company, either in a suit by it to cancel or lapse a policy or to change or alter the terms or conditions thereof in any way that may have the effe…

(a) (1) When liability insurance is carried by any cooperative nonprofit corporation, association, or organization, or by any municipality, agency, or subdivision of a municipality, or of the state, or by any improvement district or school district, or by any other organization o…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Health benefit plans are increasingly making use of step therapy protocols under which patients are required to try one (1) or more prescription drugs before coverage is provided for a drug selected by the patient's healthcare provider;(2) …

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Clinical practice guidelines” means a systematically developed statement derived from peer-reviewed published medical literature, evidence-based research, and widely accepted medical practice to assist decision-making by healthcare providers an…

(a) (1) Clinical review criteria used to establish a step therapy protocol shall be based on clinical practice guidelines that:(A) Are developed and endorsed by a multidisciplinary panel of experts that manages conflicts of interest among the members of the writing and review gro…

(a) (1) If coverage of a prescription drug for the treatment of any medical condition is restricted for use by a healthcare insurer, health benefit plan, or utilization review organization through the use of a step therapy protocol, a patient and prescribing healthcare provider s…

This subchapter applies to a group health benefit plan or offered in connection with a group health plan that provides coverage of a prescription drug under a policy that meets the definition of a medication step therapy protocol whether or not the policy is described as a step t…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Coverage for Early Refills of Prescription Eye Drops Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Covered person” means a person who is and continues to remain eligible for coverage under a health benefit plan and is covered under the health benefit plan;(2) (A) “Health benefit plan” means:(i) An individual, blanket, or group plan, policy, …

(1) A healthcare insurer that provides coverage for prescription eye drops under a health benefit plan shall provide coverage for early refills of prescription eye drops to a covered person on and after January 1, 2022, if:(1) For a thirty-day supply:(A) The amount of time has pa…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Fairness in Cost Sharing Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Cost-sharing requirement” means a copayment, coinsurance, deductible, or annual limitation on cost sharing, including without limitation a limitation subject to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, that is requir…

(a) (1) When calculating an enrollee's contribution to any applicable cost-sharing requirement, a healthcare insurer shall include any cost-sharing amounts paid by the enrollee or on behalf of the enrollee by another person.(2) The cost-sharing requirement under subdivision (a)(1…

(a) The Insurance Commissioner shall promulgate rules necessary to carry out this subchapter. (b) The rules promulgated under this section shall require a healthcare insurer and the Director of the Evidence-Based Prescription Drug Program of the College of Pharmacy of the Univers…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Birth mother” means the biological mother of a child;(2) “Depression” means a mental illness classified as a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and a loss of interest;(3) (A) “Health benefit plan” means:(i) An individual,…

(a) A healthcare insurer that offers, issues, or renews a health benefit plan in this state shall provide coverage for screening for depression of the birth mother by a healthcare professional within the first six (6) weeks of the birth mother's having given birth on or after Jan…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Healthcare Insurer Share the Savings Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Defined cost sharing” means a deductible payment or coinsurance amount imposed on an enrollee for a covered prescription drug under the enrollee's health benefit plan;(2) “Enrollee” means an individual entitled to coverage of healthcare service…

(a) An enrollee's defined cost sharing for a prescription drug shall be calculated at the point-of-sale based on a price that is reduced by an amount equal to at least one hundred percent (100%) of all rebates received, or to be received, in connection with the dispensing or admi…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Biomarker” means a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a specific therapeutic intervention, including known gene-drug …

(a) A health benefit plan that is offered, issued, or renewed in this state shall provide coverage for biomarker testing. (b) The evidence of coverage document provided with a health benefit plan under this subchapter shall include biomarker testing for the purpose of diagnosis, …

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Triage, Treat, and Transport to Alternative Destination Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “911 call” means a communication made on behalf of an enrollee indicating that the enrollee may need emergency medical services;(2) (A) “Alternative destination” means a lower-acuity facility that provides medical services, including without lim…

(a) A healthcare insurer that offers, issues, or renews a health benefit plan in this state shall provide coverage for an ambulance service to:(1) Treat an enrollee in place if the ambulance service is coordinating the care of the enrollee through telemedicine with a physician fo…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Health benefit plan” means:(i) An individual, blanket, or group plan or a policy or contract for healthcare services issued or delivered by a healthcare insurer; and(ii) Any health benefit program receiving state or federal appropriations f…

(a) A healthcare insurer that offers, issues, or renews a health benefit plan in this state shall provide coverage for screening for behavioral health conditions and coverage for behavioral health services provided in a:(1) Hospital outpatient clinic; or(2) Physician clinic. (1) …

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Acquired brain injury” means an injury to the brain that occurs after birth and may be caused by:(A) An infectious disease;(B) A metabolic disorder;(C) An endocrine disorder;(D) Diminished oxygen;(E) A brain tumor;(F) A toxin;(G) A disease that…

(a) (1) On and after January 1, 2026, a health benefit plan that is offered, issued, renewed, delivered, or extended in this state shall provide coverage to an enrollee for medically necessary treatment related to or as a result of an acquired brain injury.(2) As required under s…

(a) The Insurance Commissioner may develop and promulgate rules for the implementation and administration of this subchapter. (b) The Department of Human Services shall apply for a waiver or add this population to an existing waiver program to allow a beneficiary under the Arkans…

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Arkansas, killing nearly two thousand (2,000) residents each year;(2) Lung cancer, which is mostly preventable, is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Arkansas;(3) In Arkansas, about on…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Covered person” means an individual who is entitled to receive healthcare services under the terms of a health benefit plan;(2) (A) “Health benefit plan” means:(i) An individual, blanket, or group plan, or a policy or contract for healthcare se…

(a) On and after January 1, 2026, a health benefit plan that is offered, issued, renewed, delivered, or extended in this state shall provide coverage for lung cancer screenings and follow-up healthcare services according to American Cancer Society guidelines. (b) The coverage for…