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Arkansas Legislative Updates

DBH Management: Arkansas Legislature Sine Die Adjournment Update - May 6, 2025

May 5th saw the official Sine Die adjournment of the 95th meeting of the Arkansas General Assembly. While both chambers had a quorum, there were a number of members who chose not to attend the mostly ceremonial meetings. With each chamber convening at 10:00am yesterday morning, the Senate adjourned Sine Die before 10:20, and the House adjourned just a couple of minutes past 10:30. While the Governor vetoed three bills and had one line-item-veto, neither chamber made an attempt to override any of these. 

The new iteration of the Executive Subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council met yesterday afternoon to approve a number of contracts, as well as some ALC rules. Many of the rule changes were necessitated by the addition of the new Joint Military Affairs committee that was formed this session. In addition to those rules, the subcommittee approved changes in how fiscal impact statements will be handled for bills impacting the State Employees' health plan. Going forward, these bills will be handled like scope of practice changes have been handled the past few years. The primary change includes that interim study proposals will have to be considered prior to the General Assembly meeting before those bills can be introduced. You can find a full list of the changes introduced here.

Below are the meeting dates and times for the committees' meetings this month:

New members of the Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) were announced yesterday.   The Legislative Council is the supervisory committee for the Bureau of Legislative Research and the Council coordinates the activities of the various interim committees and, through these committees, provides  legislative oversight of the executive branch.  The Council consists of 36 members – 20 House and 16 Senators.   In addition, there are 24 ex-officio voting members and 5 ex-officio non-voting members.  You can click on this link to see the members of ALC along with all the various sub-committees.

The Senate held a Business Meeting after adjournment to approve five of the Governor’s appointments to state boards and commissions:

• Judd Deere, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Governor, to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees;
• Justin Tate, reappointment to the Arkansas Public Service Commission;
• John McAlpine, reappointment to Arkansas Forestry Commission;
• Larry Walther, former Secretary of the  Department of Finance and Administration, to the Board of Trustees for the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System;
• Lawrence Bengal, retired director of the Oil and Gas Commission , to the Oil and Gas Commission.

Not surprisingly, we are also beginning to get fundraiser invitations as well as hearing there could possibly be some interesting challengers to some current sitting members. We will keep you posted as we hear more. We appreciate you, and will keep you updated as things progress through the Interim. 

Bruce, Camie, Lee Ann, Michael and Holly

What's happening in Arkansas?

AHA: Cardiac Emergency Response Plans to be in enacted in Arkansas Public Schools

During the week of April 25, 2025, Governor Sanders signed a new law requiring all public schools in Arkansas to implement a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP), aiming to improve emergency preparedness and save lives. This achievement was made possible by dedicated advocates who shared their stories, raised awareness, and pushed for change. Many of them were present at the bill signing to celebrate the passage of Act 352, a testament to the power of community-driven advocacy.

ARAA on Understanding Arkansas Act 1021 - ARRIVES Act

Arkansas Act 1021, known as the ARRIVES Act (Arkansas Revenue Investment in Vital EMS Systems), represents a crucial first step toward strengthening our state’s EMS infrastructure.

This newly enacted framework legislation lays the groundwork for assessing the needs of ambulance providers and establishing a fair and strategic method for distributing funds—particularly in underserved areas. These areas, often described as “healthcare deserts,” rely heavily on EMS to bridge the gap in access to essential medical services.

While the ARRIVES Act doesn’t allocate funding just yet, it sets the mechanism for how future resources can be distributed, ensuring that regions with the greatest service gaps can receive proportionate support.

However, this is just the beginning. The EMS industry is facing an unprecedented convergence of challenges:

- A shrinking and overburdened workforce

- Skyrocketing operational costs

- Inadequate reimbursement from public and private payers

- Increasing reliance on EMS as frontline healthcare in areas lacking clinics or physicians

The Arkansas Ambulance Association is committed to pushing forward. While no general funds have been appropriated to fund ARRIVES yet, the Association will continue to advocate for dedicated investment in EMS to ensure life-saving services remain accessible to every Arkansan—urban or rural.

Industry Insights

EMS1 on MEDPAC's Impact on Ambulance Services

In December 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the first report from the Ground Ambulance Data Collection System (GADCS), highlighting that the costs of providing ambulance services—across public, private, and nonprofit providers—often exceed current Medicare reimbursement rates. The report was notable for including a broad range of provider types, unlike earlier studies by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which excluded certain providers due to concerns about data reliability.

In March 2025, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) reviewed the GADCS report. During this process, MedPAC excluded data from providers that share operational costs with other services (like fire departments or hospitals) and those with costs significantly higher than the average. This resulted in the removal of over half of the services included in the original dataset.

The article suggests that EMS agencies may need to focus on internal strategies—such as adopting telehealth, improving transfer protocols, and optimizing deployment—to manage costs and sustain operations, regardless of changes to Medicare payments.

Medicaid Provisions in Energy and Commerce Committee Bill

Arkansas Health Update

Respiratory Virus - % of Emergency Department Visits - CDC Data

The data is updated by the CDC weekly and can be accessed here.

Upcoming Events

May 18 - 24, 2025: National EMS Week 2025

May 21, 2025: EMS Week - Arkansas Parade of Lights 

July 31 - August 3, 2025: AEMTA Conference

June 22 - 24, 2025: AAA Annual Conference & Trade Show

Resources

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