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HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  JUL / AUG 2023 41 Joseph W. Thompson, MD, MPH President and Chief Executive Officer Arkansas Center for Health Improvement provided by primary care physicians’ clin- ics and hospital outpatient clinics, including screenings and services provided via tele- health. Act 512 calls for the House and Senate public health committees to continue the Arkansas Legislative Study on Mental and Behavioral Health and issue a final report — which will include recommendations for legislation to improve mental and behav- ioral health services in the state — no later than Oct. 31, 2024. To avoid unnecessary emergency room visits, Act 480 requires health plans issued Jan. 1, 2024, or later to cover ambulance ser- vices to transport a patient to an “alternative destination” such as an urgent care clinic, a mental or behavioral health facility, or a crisis stabilization unit if the ambulance is coordinating care via telehealth with a phy- sician or a behavioral health specialist. The ambulance service can also be reimbursed for treating the patient in place if using tele- health to coordinate care. The law also es- tablishes minimum reimbursement rates. House Bill 1009 by Rep. Pilkington initial- ly proposed that Medicaid cover beneficia- ries’ transportation to healthcare facilities, with a cap of $150 per person per year. As enacted, however, Act 484 refers the matter to interim study. HEALTHCARE WORKER SAFETY Act 311 requires healthcare facilities to post notices informing the public that at- tacking a healthcare worker is a felony. The law also allows a healthcare worker to give a work address in lieu of a home address when filing a police report about workplace violence. LOOKING AHEAD: MEDICAID Lawmakers could return to the Capitol this year for a more health-focused special for the meals, with state dollars making up the difference. CHILD SAFETY AND WELL-BEING Under Act 756, a state employee will be able to take up to 40 hours of leave per cal- endar year to care for a child who has been placed in foster care in the employee’s home. Act 513 provides a Medicaid supplemental reimbursement rate for integrated behav- ioral health services provided by pediatric primary care physicians enrolled in the patient-centered medical home program. Act 806 requires the Arkansas Depart- ment of Human Services to set minimum standards for the quality of care provided to children in residential psychiatric treatment facilities. Under Act 101, public schools are required to inform parents of the impor- tance — and availability in the community — of water safety courses and swimming lessons for children. ACCESS TO MEDICATIONS To help address the opioid epidemic and prevent overdose deaths, Act 811 requires the Arkansas Department of Education’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to collaborate with the Arkan- sas Department of Health to ensure public high schools and state-supported higher education institutions have an overdose rescue kit on each campus (access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone was great- ly expanded by another law, Act 586, that is already in effect). Act 314 authorizes pharmacists to dis- pense HIV pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis under a statewide protocol. MENTAL HEALTH Act 494 requires Medicaid to cover be- havioral health screenings and services session: Gov. Sanders said in April she was considering calling a special session devoted to reducing costs and improving sustain- ability in the state’s Medicaid program. 7 At press deadline for this column, the governor had not yet issued such a call. The state is already conducting a massive Medicaid eligibility redetermination pro- cess, as required by the end of pandemic- era rules, and the governor is proposing a work and community engagement require- ment for enrollees in the Medicaid expan- sion program. Between those adjustments and whatever changes may come out of a possible special session, Arkansas’Medicaid program could soon look very different; it will be up to state policymakers to ensure that it continues to be a robust safety net for our most vulnerable citizens. n REFERENCES 1 Kaiser Family Foundation. “Maternal deaths and mortality rates per 100,000 live births.” Ac- cessed May 31, 2023. kff.org/other/state-indica- tor/maternal-deaths-and-mortality-rates-per- 100000-live-births/?currentTimeframe=0&sele ctedDistributions=maternal-mortality-rate-per- 100000-live-births&sortModel=%7B%22colId%2 2:%22Maternal%20Mortality%20Rate%20per%20 100,000%20live%20Births%22,%22sort%22:%22 desc%22%7D 2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Teen Birth Rate by State.” Accessed May 31, 2023. cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/teen- births/teenbirths.htm 3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Infant Mortality Rates by State.” Accessed May 31, 2023. cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/ infant_mortality_rates/infant_mortality.htm 4 Kaiser Family Foundation. “Medicaid Post- partum Extension Tracker.” Accessed May 31, 2023. kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid- postpartum-coverage-extension-tracker 5 Coleman-Jensen, A.; Rabbitt, M.P.; Gregory; C.A.; Singh, A. “Household Food Security in the United States in 2021.” U.S. Department of Agri- culture Economic Research Service. September 2022. https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ pub-details/?pubid=104655 6 U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutri- tion Service. “Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE).” Accessed May 31, 2023. fns.usda.gov/ snap/broad-based-categorical-eligibility 7 Brock, R. “Gov. Sanders: Medicaid special ses- sion ‘certainly possible.’” Talk Business and Poli- tics. April 16, 2023. talkbusiness.net/2023/04/ gov-sanders-medicaid-special-session-certainly- possible