AR SB624

Senate and House committees on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor shall jointly develop a request for proposals to hire a consultant to study scope of practice for all medical professions in Arkansas.

Consultant's study must analyze healthcare needs, current scope of practice laws, national best practices, federal law authorizations, Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement rates, medical school graduation rates and residency locations, scope of practice barriers to recruitment, healthcare accessibility issues, and workforce demand projections.

Consultant must submit final written report with findings and recommendations to both committees by September 1, 2020, and committees shall submit their own recommendations report to the Legislative Council by October 1, 2020, intended to inform 2021 legislative session changes.

Consultant will have access to Bureau of Legislative Research staff assistance, but the bureau will not be responsible for the consultant's work outcomes.

All requests for information or direction of the consultant's work must be submitted to the Bureau of Legislative Research and approved by both committees; attempting to influence the consultant's work outside this approval process may subject a person to prosecution under Arkansas Code § 5-54-102(a)(1).