AR SB621

Requires the Arkansas Medicaid Program and Department of Human Services to have all existing consent decrees reconsidered by a court on or before December 1, 2021, to modify, nullify, or be released from the decrees.

Cites the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc., which held that Medicaid providers cannot sue for injunctive relief based on the Supremacy Clause, potentially nullifying the legal basis for existing consent decrees.

References 14 specific court cases and consent decrees dating from 1986 to 2013 that established reimbursement rate obligations for various Medicaid provider services.

Notes that since 2015, the program and department have not moved to modify or nullify the consent decrees despite the Armstrong ruling and that since 2019 have been implementing a systemic approach to reviewing and increasing Medicaid provider rates.

Requires the program and department to report quarterly to the Legislative Council regarding the results of the court reconsideration actions.