Proposed bill could limit insurance coverage for mental health and substance abuse
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A proposed bill could eliminate coverage mandates for mental health and substance abuse treatments under employer-provided insurance in Arkansas.
HB 1420 was introduced in the Arkansas House on Feb. 5 by State Rep. Trey Steimel (R-Pocahontas) and co-sponsored by State Rep. Justin Boyd (R-Fort Smith).
The bill would repeal requirements for insurers to cover drug, alcohol and mental health treatments, as well as certain rehabilitation services. It would also end funding for the Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool (CHIP) and reduce state oversight of mental health coverage.
If HB1420 passes, insurance providers would no longer be required to offer or make alcohol or drug dependency treatments under employer-provided insurance.
Currently, Arkansas Code § 23-79-139 requires insurers, hospitals, medical service corporations, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for the treatment of alcohol and drug dependency.
If repealed, it would:
Remove mandated coverage for services under the Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool (CHIP).
Eliminate state-established requirements for the coverage of hospital care and prescription drugs.
Discontinue funding for the Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool (CHIP).
End enrollment procedures and eligibility criteria for CHIP.
Terminate the requirement for the state to provide access to CHIP for eligible individuals.
Free school breakfast bill advances in Arkansas legislature
CHIP (Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool) in Arkansas provides health insurance for people with pre-existing conditions who have been uninsured for at least six months.
It operates alongside the federal Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) and is funded by federal money. The program offers lower premiums and is available to about 2,500 people in the state.
CHIP in Arkansas is funded through premium taxes and assessments levied on insurance providers.
Arkansas Code § 23-86-113 currently mandates minimum mental health benefits for group accident and health insurance policies or subscriber's contracts. If repealed:
Remove the requirement for group insurance policies to provide inpatient, partial hospitalization or outpatient benefits for mental illness.
Eliminate the obligation for insurers to cover services from hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, outpatient psychiatric centers, physicians, psychologists or community mental health centers for mental illness.
Repeal rules preventing insurers from imposing limits on deductibles, lifetime maximum payments or payment limits for smaller employers (50 or fewer employees).
Remove restrictions on the disclosure of mental health information without written consent, except in certain circumstances such as litigation, reinsurance or underwriting.
Eliminate the requirement for insurers to provide more extensive mental health coverage than the minimum required.
Repeal the mandate for insurers to offer coverage for services rendered by licensed professional counselors in employer-provided insurance.
Additional Arkansas constitutional amendments filed in legislature
Arkansas Code § 23-99-508 currently allows healthcare insurers to provide optional coverage for health services used in the treatment of mental illnesses. If repealed, it would:
Remove provisions allowing insurers to cover services like intensive case management, community residential treatment programs, or social rehabilitation programs.
Repeal the allowance for healthcare insurers to provide coverage for physical rehabilitation or durable medical equipment not generally used in the treatment of serious mental illnesses.
Eliminate the provision permitting healthcare insurers to use common utilization management protocols, such as preadmission screening or prior authorization, for mental illness services.
Remove the option for healthcare insurers to comply with the terms of this subchapter for educational remediation regarding mental illness treatment.
Under MHPAEA, insurers must provide mental health and substance use disorder benefits on par with medical benefits, with no more restrictive financial or treatment limits. They must also document non-quantitative treatment limitations.
The Affordable Care Act mandates these services as essential benefits in individual and small-group plans.
Read the full proposed bill below:
FTPDocumentDownload
The bill's status is 'Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on INSURANCE & COMMERCE- HOUSE' as of Feb. 12.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
World Precision Instruments and SynVivo Launch Next-Generation Multiplexed TEER-on-a-Chip Platform for Real-Time Organ-on-a-Chip Cell Monitoring
SARASOTA, Fla. and HUNTSVILLE, Ala., June 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- World Precision Instruments (WPI), a global leader in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) instrumentation, and SynVivo Inc., a pioneer in Organ-on-a-Chip (OOC) technology, today announced the commercial launch of a next-generation multiplexed TEER-on-a-Chip platform—a breakthrough solution enabling real-time, high-throughput measurement of barrier integrity in advanced Organ-on-a-Chip models. The co-developed platform integrates WPI's gold-standard EVOM™ measurement technology with SynVivo's SynTEER™ multiplexed OOC models with embedded electrodes, providing researchers with a seamless solution for performing TEER measurements directly within microfluidic chips. Initially validated on SynVivo's advanced SynBBB™ Blood-Brain Barrier model, this is the first in a planned series of Organ-on-a-Chip platforms powered by the new EVOM-Chip™ system from WPI. With electrodes embedded directly into SynVivo's SynTEER™ multiplexed OOC models researchers can now perform real-time TEER measurements across multiple channels—enabling continuous barrier monitoring, streamlined workflows, and improved reproducibility. The EVOM-Chip™ system allows for hands-free, simultaneous data collection, and remains fully compatible with live-cell imaging and physiologically relevant flow conditions. "This collaboration represents a major advancement in functional barrier modeling," said Gwen Fewell, President & CEO of SynVivo Inc. "Integrating TEER measurement directly into our chip enhances data fidelity, reduces variability, and streamlines experimental workflows—key to enabling more predictive, standardized and scalable in vitro models. By combining our vascularized OOC technology with WPI's industry-leading TEER measurement expertise, we're delivering a powerful solution for researchers tackling complex questions in CNS drug development, inflammation, and drug discovery." WPI's EVOM™ family of TEER instrumentation has set the standard for barrier function assessment for over 30 years. SynVivo's SynTEER™ platform builds on this legacy with pre-integrated, precisely aligned electrodes designed to optimize TEER signal fidelity across a range of Organ-on-a-Chip applications. As the OOC market rapidly grows, it continues to face challenges around standardization and automation, both of which are essential for mainstream adoption in pharmaceutical research. "A critical gap has been the ability to perform on-chip, non-destructive sensing—particularly TEER measurements—a need shared by the majority of OOC platforms but rarely implemented successfully or in a multiplex fashion," explains Mark Rutledge, CEO of WPI. "With EVOM™ Chip, researchers can monitor their OOC platforms from cell seeding through barrier formation, as well as before, during and after drug treatment, to get accurate and reproducible readouts, without affecting the health or well-being of the cells." The system's initial application on the SynBBB™ Blood-Brain Barrier platform has demonstrated a strong correlation between electrical resistance and functional barrier properties, supporting its use in CNS drug development, inflammation studies, and neurovascular research. See It Live at MPS World Summit – Brussels, June 10–13, 2025Visit WPI and SynVivo at the MPS World Summit to explore the EVOM-Chip™ and SynTEER-on-a-Chip systems in action and learn how integrated TEER-on-Chip technology can accelerate your research. WPI Booth #131 SynVivo Booth #404 ABOUT WORLD PRECISION INSTRUMENTS For over 55 years, World Precision Instruments (WPI) has been a leading global manufacturer and provider of innovative research equipment and laboratory supplies to the life sciences, pharmaceutical, health care, and industrial markets. Our proven technology supports complex model development, including preclinical models and organ-on-a-chip systems, providing researchers with the tools to identify and validate drugs to understand mechanism of action, dosage, administration, drug-drug interactions, patient-specific reactions, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety and efficacy. Our areas of innovation focus on tissue and cell biology, fluidics, animal physiology and electrophysiology. With an extensive global network and a passion for innovation, WPI provides novel solutions to customers' daily challenges. For more information, visit About SynVivoSynVivo is a pioneering organ-on-chip company developing physiologically relevant tissue models for drug discovery, disease research, and safety testing. Its advanced microfluidic platforms replicate human tissue microenvironments to enhance the predictive accuracy of in vitro testing. SynVivo is committed to bridging the gap between traditional preclinical models and human clinical outcomes, advancing a new standard in predictive, human-relevant drug development. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE SynVivo and World Precision Instruments Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
USDA approves Arkansas Gov. Sanders' waiver to ban soda, candy from SNAP
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins signed Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' waiver May 10 to ban soft drinks and candy from Arkansas' Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. According to a press release from Sanders' office, the governor submitted her waiver in April. The state will use the GS1 US food categorization system to implement the policy changes. USDA approves SNAP waivers for 3 states, where does Arkansas' stand? 'This approval sends a clear message: President Trump and his administration are tackling America's chronic disease epidemic and Arkansas stands with him in that fight,' said Sanders. 'I am incredibly grateful for Secretary Rollins' quick approval of our waiver. Arkansas leads the nation in getting unhealthy, ultra-processed foods off food stamps and helping our most vulnerable citizens lead healthier lives.' Rollins signed similar waivers for Idaho and Utah, along with Arkansas, at an event where she was joined by Sanders and U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to a press release from the USDA. The waiver bans soda, low and no-calorie soda, fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice, 'other unhealthy drinks,' and candy from SNAP. The order takes effect July 1, 2026. In May, Rollins approved waivers for Nebraska, Indiana and Iowa to remove sodas and sugary and unhealthy foods, the first three states to be approved. Indiana and Arkansas were the first states to announce plans to ban soft drinks and candy from the program that helps low-income people pay for groceries. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNBC
a day ago
- CNBC
47. Abridge
Founders: Shiv Rao (CEO), Zack LiptonLaunched: 2018Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaFunding: $462.5 millionValuation: $2.7 billionKey Technologies: Artificial intelligence, generative AIIndustry: Health carePrevious appearances on Disruptor 50 list: 0 Skyrocketing rates of burnout among doctors during the pandemic highlighted a huge problem and patient risk. Abridge offers a generative AI platform that is designed to reduce physician burnout levels, a note-taking tool that doctors can rely on during conversations with patients, saving them valuable time that too often has been sucked up by documentation. "After I see a patient, I have to write notes, I have to place orders, I have to think about the patient summary," Abridge founder Dr. Shiv Rao told CNBC at a 2024 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference. The Abridge technology, Rao said, "allows me to focus on the person in front of me — the most important person, the patient — because when I hit start, have a conversation, then hit stop, I can swivel my chair and within seconds, the note's there." Abridge's platform is able to structure these notes into draft medical records in outpatient, inpatient and emergency medicine settings. Doctors can then double check these generated visit summaries and medical orders before signing off on them. But Abridge is more than just a transcription tool. The platform is also able to match medical issues with insurance billing codes, along with drafting medical orders. With a feature called Linked Evidence, the information sources used to generate Abridge's medical summaries can be found and verified by physicians. In 2024, Abridge announced a new health system enterprise customer nearly every week, according to a report by Contrary Research. Some of Abridge's most recent customers include Mayo Clinic, Duke Health, UNC Health and Johns Hopkins Medicine. The company has partnered with Nvidia to further develop Abridge's ability to understand multilingual conversations between doctors and patients. The software is now able to recognize almost 100 languages. Abridge says that physicians who use its platform at River Health have seen as much as a 55% decrease in burnout. Burnout levels have come back down to pre-Covid levels, according to American Medical Association data, but it remains a huge issue in healthcare. In 2024, approximately 43% of physicians reported burnout, which was down from over 48% in 2022. Physicians are also at a higher risk for burnout compared to other U.S. workers, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Abridge is just one of the many companies trying to make a name for itself in the booming market for AI medical scribing tools. Competition for Abridge ranges from other startups like Freed and Suki, to tech giants like Microsoft's Nuance Communications, which recently launched an interface update available in the U.S. and Canada. Fellow Disruptor Rad AI also offers written summaries as part of its AI tools for radiologists. "It'll be incumbent upon us to make sure that we're able to demonstrate differentiation," Rao told CNBC. "So far, we've had good luck these last few years doing that."
