The bill amends the Arkansas Health Care Consumer Act to require healthcare insurers to make certain retroactive payments to providers upon their credentialing. Specifically, it stipulates that a healthcare insurer must treat an applicant physician as a participating physician from the date of submission of a substantially completed application, provided that the physician has been approved through the insurer's credentialing process. This change aims to ensure that physicians are compensated for services rendered from the time they submit their application, thereby enhancing the financial stability of healthcare providers during the credentialing period.

Additionally, the bill clarifies that the new payment provisions do not apply to the Arkansas Medicaid Program. The amendments include the insertion of definitions and conditions regarding the treatment of applicant physicians and the timeline for payments, which are intended to streamline the process and improve the relationship between healthcare providers and insurers.

Statutes affected:
Old version HB1288 Original - 1-28-2025 05:03 PM: 23-99-411(a)
Old version HB1288 V2 - 2-10-2025 09:52 AM: 23-99-411(a)
Old version HB1288 V3 - 2-13-2025 10:28 AM: 23-99-411(a)
Old version HB1288 V4 - 2-20-2025 12:04 PM: 23-99-411(a)
Old version HB1288 V5 - 2-27-2025 10:39 AM: 23-99-411(a)
Old version HB1288 V6 - 3-19-2025 02:23 PM: 23-99-411(a)
HB 1288: 23-99-411(a)
Act 423: 23-99-411(a)