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Lawmakers press Medicaid officials on cost as committee hears bill to require insurer coverage for collaborative psychiatric care
Summary
A hearing on a psychiatric collaborative-care bill featured clinical testimony that the model expands access and can save money, while DHS gave a wide fiscal range ($3M–$40M state share) and lawmakers pressed for caps and fiscal analysis; the bill was pulled for further work.
Senators heard testimony on legislation that would require Medicaid and other insurers to reimburse a collaborative psychiatric-care model in primary-care settings and then paused the measure to gather fiscal analysis.
Senator Sandra Irvin introduced the bill and invited clinicians to present details. Dr. Patty Gibson, a psychiatrist and president-elect of the Arkansas Psychiatric Society, described the model as a way to increase access by embedding behavioral-health care in primary care: "This bill is to require Medicaid and all insurance payers to pay for this type of care," Gibson said,…
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