Committee approves bill to extend home-care licensing, training and background checks to private-pay agencies

Sen. Clint Penzo presented SB120, which extends licensing, training and background-check requirements adopted in 2023 for Medicaid-funded home-care providers to private-pay home-care agencies.

David Cook, director of government affairs for the Alzheimer ssociation, described SB120 as "a consumer protection bill" that closes a gap in oversight. He said the 2023 law required dementia training for Medicaid providers but left private-pay agencies outside the licensure framework; SB120 would require the same mandatory training, registry screening and background checks for private-pay providers.

Multiple family members testified in favor. Jacqueline Ryan described years of alleged neglect and financial exploitation involving a private caregiver for her father and said families in crisis need assurance that caregivers are vetted. Ryan told the committee caregivers should be fingerprinted and background-checked before entering the homes of vulnerable people.

Private agency owners said they support consistent standards but warned the bill, as written, introduces duplicative or costly requirements. Stan Tansil, an owner of a private-care agency in Stone County, said existing providers that accept Medicaid already meet Department of Health standards and urged the committee to adopt the Department—oard rules wholesale rather than cherry-pick provisions. Megan Townsend, a private-agency owner, said federal fingerprint-based checks would impose travel, delay and cost burdens in rural areas; she said federal fingerprints require specialized fingerprinting services often dozens of miles away.

Matt Gilmore of the Arkansas Department of Health told the committee the department licenses Medicaid providers and that roughly 270 private agencies currently operate; DHS estimates that number could double in the first year if the private-pay sector must seek licensure. Gilmore explained the current background-check rule: applicants who have lived continuously in Arkansas for five years receive a state criminal check; federal checks and fingerprinting are required only if a person has not lived in Arkansas continuously during the prior five years.

Penzo closed by noting the bill extends protections already in place for Medicaid beneficiaries to private-pay clients and asked for a favorable vote. The committee passed SB120 on a voice vote with no recorded opposition in the transcript.