Committee advances Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies bill after contentious debate over malpractice time limits and ‘tail’ insurance

A House companion to the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act was presented to the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee and approved after an extended hearing that centered on a contested provision reducing the statute of limitations for malpractice claims arising during childbirth.

The sponsor introduced the measure as the House companion bill to the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act, noting it had been heard previously. The sponsor said little controversy attended the underlying maternal-health provisions but acknowledged the committee would debate a provision affecting malpractice claims timing.

Lamar Porter, a private attorney who represents parents and children in birth‑injury cases, testified in opposition to a change in the bill that would shorten the time frame for some birth‑injury lawsuits. Porter said he was “not against the overall thrust of the bill” but urged removal of the provision that would require parents of babies injured at birth to bring lawsuits within five years rather than the current longer period for minors. Porter warned the change would “create confusion” for cases with injuries occurring at different stages (prenatal, delivery, transport) and would, in his view, “whittle away” minors’ legal rights. He urged removal of “section 4, paragraph 3 of the act.”

Committee members pressed witnesses and discussed the insurance mechanics that affect retired doctors. Senator Payton asked whether liability coverage rests on whether insurance was in effect at the date of the alleged malpractice. A witness, Mike Mitchell, general counsel for the Arkansas Medical Society, explained Arkansas primarily uses “claims-made” malpractice policies, so coverage is tied to when a claim is reported rather than when the incident occurred; that practice makes tail coverage necessary when a physician leaves practice.

Janet Mann, director of DHS Medicaid, told the committee Medicaid does participate in malpractice litigation and may seek recovery of medical payments in some circumstances; she said she was not aware of a statutory bar that would prevent Medicaid participation in such litigation in the scenarios discussed.

Sponsor remarks focused on workforce and access issues. The sponsor said rural hospitals are closing labor-and-delivery units and cited a figure of 34 hospitals remaining in Arkansas with labor-and-delivery services. The sponsor argued the five‑year limitation was a compromise aimed at reducing the cost of malpractice tail coverage and stabilizing obstetric services in underserved areas. “They've retired. And OB GYNs doctors will retire from delivering babies because of this, tail coverage that has to be provided,” the sponsor said, arguing high tail costs sometimes leave hospitals unable to staff delivery units and forcing closures.

Members debated alternatives. Senator Payton and others said the statutory change would curtail injured children’s rights and pressed that insurance‑market solutions might be preferable to shortening statutes for minors. Senator Tippen said she would vote for the bill as a temporary measure to address recruitment and retention, calling it “a treatment, but it's not the cure.”

Mike Mitchell confirmed general malpractice statute-of-limitations practice in Arkansas is two years for an adult claim but that the legislature has extended the period for minors; he explained that the claims-made insurance model is common and requires tail coverage when practitioners stop practicing. Committee discussion cited other states’ limits in comparative terms (witnesses and members referenced that Louisiana and Tennessee have one‑year limits in some contexts, Mississippi and Oklahoma seven to eight years, and Texas 14 years), as part of arguments for and against the five‑year provision.

After discussion, the sponsor closed and moved the bill. The committee approved the measure by voice vote; the clerk announced approval. The transcript records the committee passed the bill by voice vote and contains no roll‑call tally.

The bill as presented includes a provision that would shorten the statute of limitations for certain birth‑injury claims to five years; proponents framed the limit as a tool to reduce tail‑insurance costs that contribute to labor‑and‑delivery closures in rural hospitals. Opponents said the change could undermine minors’ rights and create legal uncertainty for cases spanning prenatal and delivery events. Medicaid’s director said Medicaid participates in recovery actions in some circumstances but did not assert the statute change would categorically prevent Medicaid from participating.