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Senate advances bill allowing individualized investigational treatments under federal oversight
Summary
The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee unanimously advanced SB136 to create a pathway for individualized investigational treatments for patients with life‑threatening or severely debilitating conditions, requiring review at federally certified facilities and making clear Medicaid is not compelled to pay.
The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee advanced Senate Bill 136 on a voice vote after testimony from a national policy advocate and questions from several senators.
The bill creates a state law pathway for an “individualized investigational treatment” — a drug, biologic or device produced for a single patient — to be used for Arkansans with life‑threatening or severely debilitating illnesses, with specified protections tied to federally certified institutional review processes.
“Imagine that there’s a new treatment for a rare disease that’s custom made for you based on your own genetic profile,”…
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