Title 23 — Public Utilities and Regulated Industries

(a) “Multiple employer welfare arrangement” has the same meaning as under 29 U.S.C. § 1002(40), as it existed on January 1, 2019. (b) (1) A fully insured multiple employer trust and fully insured multiple employer welfare arrangement that intends to provide benefits to citizens o…

(1) As used in this subchapter, “third-party administrator”:(1) Means a person, firm, or partnership that collects or charges premiums from or adjusts or settles claims on residents of this state in connection with life or accident and health coverage provided by a self-insured p…

A third-party administrator may act in that capacity only if he or she has a written agreement with a self-insured plan or trust. The agreement shall be maintained by the third-party administrator and subject to review by the Insurance Commissioner.

(a) No person shall act or hold himself or herself out as an administrator unless he or she obtains a certificate of registration from the Insurance Commissioner. (b) The certificate may be obtained by submitting an application on a form prescribed by the commissioner, paying a t…

(a) Every applicant for a certificate of registration shall file with the application, and shall thereafter maintain in force while operating under the registration, a bond in favor of the people of the State of Arkansas executed by an authorized insurer. The bond shall have a to…

(a) When a self-insured plan or a trust utilizes the services of an administrator, the payment of premiums or charges to the administrator by the covered individual are presumed to have been received by the self-insured plan or trust. (b) The payment of claims or the return of pr…

(a) An administrator is a fiduciary in collecting or returning premiums or charges for the party with whom it has a written agreement for administrative services. (b) Funds collected by the administrator shall be immediately remitted to the person entitled to the funds or deposit…

(a) Every administrator shall maintain at its principal administrative office for the duration of the written agreement referred to in § 23-92-202 and five (5) years thereafter adequate books and records of all transactions between it, self-insured plans, trusts, and covered indi…

(1) The compensation for an administrator may be based on:(1) Premiums or charges collected;(2) The number of claims paid or processed; or(3) Some other fair and equitable basis provided by the contract. (1) Premiums or charges collected; (2) The number of claims paid or processe…

This subchapter may be cited as the “Arkansas Professional Employer Organization Recognition and Licensing Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Client” means any person who enters into a coemployment relationship as a coemployer with a professional employer organization;(2) “Coemployer” means a professional employer organization or a client of a professional employer organization;(3) “…

(a) (1) Neither this subchapter nor any professional employer agreement shall affect, modify, or amend any collective bargaining agreement or the rights or obligations of any client, professional employer organization, or covered employee under the National Labor Relations Act, a…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, no person shall provide, advertise, or otherwise hold itself out as providing professional employer services in Arkansas unless the person is licensed as a professional service organization under this subchapter. (b) (1) Each p…

(a) Each controlling person shall provide information and certifications necessary for the Insurance Commissioner to determine that the controlling person is of good moral character and:(1) Is at least eighteen (18) years of age; and(2) Has the education, managerial, or business …

(a) (1) A license issued to any professional employer organization under this subchapter may not be transferred or assigned.(2) A licensee may not operate an entity subject to licensing under this subchapter under any name or at any location other than that specified in the appli…

(a) Upon filing an initial licensing statement under this subchapter, a professional employer organization shall pay an initial licensing fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000). (b) Upon each biennial renewal of a licensing statement filed under this subchapter, a professional empl…

(a) Each professional employer organization shall maintain:(1) An audited minimum net worth of at least one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), as reflected in the financial statements submitted to the Insurance Commissioner with the initial licensing, and annually thereafter; o…

(a) (1) Except as specifically provided in this subchapter, the coemployment relationship between the client and the professional employer organization and between each coemployer and each covered employee shall be governed by the professional employer agreement.(2) Neither this …

(a) The Insurance Commissioner shall issue a license as a professional employer organization to any person who qualifies for the license under the terms of this subchapter. (b) In addition, the commissioner may refuse to issue a license to any person, may suspend or revoke the li…

(a) No professional employer organization shall:(1) Evade or attempt to evade the provisions of this subchapter by purporting to be the sole employer of the covered employees;(2) Present a proposal to enter into a professional employer agreement with a prospective client unless t…

(a) Any person who engages in the business of a professional employer organization or acts as a professional employer organization without first procuring a license or who otherwise violates any of the provisions under this subchapter shall be liable for a civil penalty of not le…

(a) (1) Professional employer organizations and professional employer organization groups are required under this subchapter to file with the Insurance Commissioner certain proprietary material, including financial records and financial information and client lists, the disclosur…

(a) The Insurance Commissioner may provide by rule for the acceptance of an employer service assurance organization affidavit provided on behalf of a professional employer organization in lieu of the requirements under §§ 23-92-404 — 23-92-406 and 23-92-408 and the fees provided …

(a) (1) No employer service assurance organization shall provide any service relating to the regulation of professional employer organizations, and no state agency, professional employer organization, or insurer shall utilize the services of the organization for those purposes un…

(a) No employer service assurance organization shall attempt to monopolize or to combine or conspire with any other person to monopolize any market or make any arrangement with any professional employer organization, employer service assurance organization, or other person that h…

(1) In addition to other activities permitted, any employer service assurance organization may:(1) Provide services under § 23-92-414 and § 23-92-419(b);(2) Develop and administer standards, procedures, and programs of accreditation and financial assurance and other services for …

(a) Each employer service assurance organization shall file with the Insurance Commissioner each affidavit and related document and information under § 23-92-414 or § 23-92-419(b) on or before the date the affidavit or related document and information are otherwise due, as prescr…

(a) (1) The Insurance Commissioner may prescribe rules for the conduct of the business of professional employer organizations needed to implement this subchapter.(2) The commissioner shall adopt rules under this subchapter in compliance with the Arkansas Administrative Procedure …

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Pharmacy Benefits Manager Licensure Act”.

(a) This subchapter establishes the standards and criteria for the regulation and licensure of pharmacy benefits managers providing claims processing services or other prescription drug or device services for health benefit plans. (b) The purpose of this subchapter is to:(1) Prom…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Affiliate” means an entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another entity, including an entity in which control is established through one (1) or more intermediary entities, such that the common controlling …

(a) (1) A person or organization shall not establish or operate as a pharmacy benefits manager in Arkansas for health benefit plans without obtaining a license from the Insurance Commissioner under this subchapter.(2) The commissioner shall prescribe the application for a license…

(a) A pharmacy benefits manager shall provide:(1) (A) A reasonably adequate and accessible pharmacy benefits manager network for the provision of prescription drugs for a health benefit plan that shall provide for convenient patient access to pharmacies within a reasonable distan…

(a) (1) The Insurance Commissioner may review and approve the compensation program of a pharmacy benefits manager with a health benefit plan to ensure that the reimbursement for pharmacist services paid to a pharmacist or pharmacy is fair and reasonable to provide an adequate pha…

(a) The prohibitions under § 23-99-407 apply to participation contracts between pharmacy benefits managers and pharmacists or pharmacies providing prescription drug coverage for health benefit plans. (b) A pharmacy or pharmacist may provide to an insured information regarding the…

(a) The Insurance Commissioner shall enforce this subchapter. (b) (1) The commissioner may examine or audit the books and records of a pharmacy benefits manager providing claims processing services or other prescription drug or device services for a health benefit plan to determi…

(a) (1) The Insurance Commissioner may adopt rules regulating pharmacy benefits managers that are not inconsistent with this subchapter.(2) Rules that the commissioner may adopt under this subchapter include without limitation rules relating to:(A) Licensing;(B) Financial solvenc…

(a) This subchapter is applicable to a contract or health benefit plan issued, renewed, recredentialed, amended, or extended on and after September 1, 2018. (b) A contract existing on the date of licensure of the pharmacy benefits manager shall comply with the requirements of thi…

(a) As used in this section:(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 required …

(a) On and after January 1, 2026, a contract or a pharmacy provider manual between a pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy or a pharmacist shall be updated to indicate that the pharmacy benefits manager will issue, mail, or otherwise transmit payment with respect to a clean cl…

(a) A pharmaceutical manufacturer that utilizes a vendor, pharmacy benefits manager, or electronic claims processor to process prescription drug manufacturer coupons or pharmaceutical manufacturer coupons shall:(1) Have an active wholesale distributor permit and be in good standi…

(a) (1) A healthcare payor, healthcare payor affiliate, pharmacy benefits manager, or pharmacy benefits manager affiliate shall not engage in unfair or deceptive trade practices in the administration of pharmacy benefits.(2) Unfair or deceptive trade practices under subdivision (…

(a) (1) A pharmacy benefits manager shall not create, utilize, or maintain a ghost network within this state.(2) For purposes of this section, a network shall not be considered a ghost network if the network includes at least one (1) mail-order pharmacy option and one (1) in-pers…

(a) A healthcare payor or pharmacy benefits manager shall not enforce the use of a particular healthcare payor affiliate or pharmacy benefits manager affiliate without considering the enrollee's individual limitations, including without limitation:(1) Medical limitations, includi…

(a) The definition of “self-administered prescription drug” under this subchapter is controlling, and that defined term shall not be altered, modified, reclassified, relabeled, or reinterpreted by a health benefit plan, healthcare payor, healthcare payor affiliate, pharmacy benef…

(a) A prohibition of an activity under this subchapter is applicable to a person or entity that:(1) Performs the prohibited activity;(2) Causes another person or entity to perform the prohibited activity;(3) Solicits, advises, encourages, or coerces another person or entity to pe…

(a) A pharmacy benefits manager may differentiate different health benefit plans, networks, or benefit packages with the use of a unique number or other form of identification. (b) At the time of renewal of a pharmacy benefits manager license, a pharmacy benefits manager shall re…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “340B Drug Pricing Nondiscrimination Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Patient” means an individual seeking medical diagnosis and treatment;(2) “Pharmacy” means the same as defined in § 17-92-101;(3) “Provider” means a licensed pharmacist as defined in § 17-92-101;(4) (A) “Third party” means:(i) A payor or the pay…

(1) A third party shall:(1) Inform a patient that the patient is not required to use a mail-order pharmacy;(2) Obtain a signed waiver from a patient before allowing the use of a mail-order pharmacy;(3) Make drug formulary and coverage decisions based on the third party's normal c…