HJAR Mar/Apr 2023

AHA LEGISLATIVE AGENDA 14 MAR / APR 2023 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS  laboratory technicians, and emergency medical technicians. In response to this analysis, the AHA is taking the initiative now to advocate for several key strategies to stabilize and grow Arkansas’ healthcare workforce, includ- ing expanding the workforce pipeline for the occupations facing the greatest short- ages, building heartier workforce retention programs, developing new models of care, expanding training programs into com- munities with the greatest need, improving data collection, and advocating for policy changes that will support recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals. Our state must invest in attracting mem- bers of the next generation of workers to choose healthcare as a profession. That means increasing pay for our nurse edu- cators, providing more opportunities for students to attend nursing schools, offer- ing loan forgiveness to encourage more graduates, and raising awareness of health- care careers among middle and high school students. Prior authorizations Throughout the pandemic, we have seen prior authorizations utilized by some insur- ance companies to delay care, authorize only a lower level of care, or completely prevent a patient from receiving care. These prior authorization decisions are, in most cases, not good patient care, made by someone who has not seen the patient, and against the recommendation of a physician treating the patient. In the best case, they are an inconvenience encountered during an already difficult time; in the worst, they cause irreparable harm. The Texas legislature passed a law that allows healthcare providers to receive a “Gold Card” for prior authorizations if the provider has 90% or more of their requests approved, demonstrating that they follow the insurer’s guidelines for “medical neces- sity.”The “Gold Card” idea has grabbed the attention of healthcare associations like AHA and of our state’s legislators. Senator Missy Irvin and Representative Lee Johnson both have filed bills to pursue this system to remedy the problem. Discussing this legislation with our mem- bers has really opened our eyes to how much time and money is spent chasing approvals of prior authorizations. We hope to see this type of legislation approved by the Arkansas legislature because it is bet- ter for patients, and it allows providers to practice medicine with fewer bureaucratic obstacles. This legislative session is extremely important to the future of healthcare in Arkansas. Financial pressures will continue and worsen for many hospitals without pay- ment reform, and we also must begin imple- menting long-term solutions to address the ongoing healthcare workforce short- ages. We are encouraged by the support of legislators in establishing the flexibility to try the promising REH model of care and look forward to proposals to help ensure that hospitals are adequately compensated, unnecessary barriers to care limited, and the future of our state’s health workforce strengthened. n Bo Ryall is president and CEO of the Arkansas Hospital Association. He has been with the Association since 2005 and was named president in 2010. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Ryall also served as the chief lobbyist on the state level for Arkansas hospitals and was previously executive director of the HomeCare Association of Arkansas. Ryall currently serves on the Future of Medicaid Work Group of the American Hospital Association, is chairman of the Health Care Providers Forum, is an Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency advisory board member, is a past member of the Health Care Industry Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and is a past-president of the Arkansas Society of Association Executives.