Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 140 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 213 3
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By: Senators Irvin, B. Davis 5
By: Representatives Pilkington, Wardlaw, Hudson, L. Johnson, Bentley 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO CREATE THE HEALTHY MOMS, HEALTHY BABIES 9
ACT; TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW TO IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH 10
IN THIS STATE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 11
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Subtitle 14
TO CREATE THE HEALTHY MOMS, HEALTHY 15
BABIES ACT; AND TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW TO 16
IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH IN THIS STATE. 17
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 19
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SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Title. 21
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Healthy Moms, Healthy 22
Babies Act". 23
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 20-77-151 is repealed to be reenacted and 25
transferred to another subchapter of the Arkansas Code. 26
20-77-151. Depression screening for pregnant women. 27
(a) The Arkansas Medicaid Program shall reimburse for depression 28
screening of a pregnant woman. 29
(b) The Department of Human Services shall apply for any federal 30
waiver, Medicaid state plan amendments, or other authority necessary to 31
implement this section. 32
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 20, Chapter 77, is amended to add an 34
additional subchapter to read as follows: 35
Subchapter 29 — Maternal Health 36 SB213
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1
20-77-2901. Depression screening for pregnant women. 2
(a) The Arkansas Medicaid Program shall reimburse for depression 3
screening of a pregnant woman. 4
(b) The Department of Human Services shall apply for any federal 5
waiver, Medicaid state plan amendments, or other authority necessary to 6
implement this section. 7
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20-77-2902. Coverage of prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services. 9
(a) The Arkansas Medicaid Program shall reimburse for prenatal, 10
delivery, and postpartum services separately in lieu of a global payment or 11
an all-inclusive payment methodology for maternity services. 12
(b) Prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services include without 13
limitation: 14
(1) Office visits; 15
(2) Laboratory fees; 16
(3) Physician ordered testing; 17
(4) Blood work; 18
(5) Remote monitoring; 19
(6) Fetal nonstress tests; and 20
(7) Continuous glucose monitors or other services for 21
gestational diabetes when medically necessary. 22
(c) This section does not alter coverage provided through the Arkansas 23
Health and Opportunity for Me Program or a risk -based provider organization 24
under the Medicaid Provider -Led Organized Care Act, § 20 -77-2701 et seq. 25
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20-77-2903. Presumptive eligibility for pregnant women. 27
(a) The Arkansas Medicaid Program shall make presumptive eligibility 28
determinations for pregnant women who are applying for the program to improve 29
access to prenatal care and allow prenatal care to be delivered immediately 30
while waiting for a full application to be processed. 31
(b) The program may designate one (1) or more qualified entities to 32
screen for eligibility and immediately enroll pregnant women into the 33
program. 34
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20-77-2904. Blood pressure monitoring for pregnant and postpartum 36 SB213
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women. 1
(a) The Arkansas Medicaid Program shall provide coverage and 2
reimbursement for self -measurement blood pressure monitoring services for 3
pregnant women and postpartum women. 4
(b) Self-measurement blood pressure monitoring services shall include: 5
(1) Validated blood pressure monitoring devices, such as a blood 6
pressure cuff and replacement cuffs, as medically necessary, to diagnose or 7
treat hypertension; 8
(2) Patient education and training on the set -up and use of a 9
self-measurement blood pressure measurement device that is validated for 10
clinical accuracy, device calibration, and the procedure for obtaining self -11
measurement readings; and 12
(3) Collection of data reports by the patient or caregiver for 13
submission to a healthcare provider to communicate blood pressure readings 14
and create or modify treatment plans. 15
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20-77-2905. Reimbursement for remote ultrasound procedures. 17
(a)(1) The Arkansas Medicaid Program shall reimburse for medically 18
necessary remote ultrasound procedures utilizing established Current 19
Procedural Terminology codes for remote ultrasound procedures when the 20
patient is in a residence or other off -site location from the healthcare 21
provider of the patient and the same standard of care is met. 22
(2) Subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall apply to the fee -23
for-service categories of the program and any managed care plan within the 24
program. 25
(b) A remote ultrasound procedure shall be reimbursable when the 26
healthcare provider uses digital technology that: 27
(1) Collects medical and other forms of health data from a 28
patient and electronically transmits the information securely to a healthcare 29
provider in a different location for interpretation and recommendation; 30
(2) Is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and 31
Accountability Act of 1996, 42 U.S.C. § 1320d et seq., as it existed on 32
January 1, 2025; and 33
(3) Is approved by the United States Food and Drug 34
Administration. 35
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20-77-2906. Coverage for certain services provided by doulas and 1
community health workers. 2
The Arkansas Medicaid Program shall reimburse doulas and community 3
health workers for home visitation related to prenatal care and postpartum 4
care. 5
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20-77-2907. Implementation and rules. 7
The Department of Human Services shall: 8
(1) Apply for any federal waiver, Medicaid state plan 9
amendments, or other authority necessary to implement this subchapter; and 10
(2) Adopt rules to implement this subchapter. 11
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SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 16 -114-203(c), concerning the statute of 13
limitations, is amended to read as follows: 14
(c)(1) If Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if an 15
individual is nine (9) years of age or younger at the time of the act, 16
omission, or failure complained of, the minor or person claiming on behalf of 17
the minor shall have until the later of the minor's eleventh birthday or two 18
(2) years from the act, omission, or failure in which to commence an action. 19
(2) However, if If no medical injury is known and could not 20
reasonably have been discovered prior to the minor's eleventh birthday, then 21
the minor or his or her representative shall have until two (2) years after 22
the medical injury is known or reasonably could have been discovered, or 23
until the minor's nineteenth birthday, whichever is earlier, in which to 24
commence an action. 25
(3) If an alleged medical injury occurred during childbirth, the 26
minor or his or her representative shall have until the minor's fifth 27
birthday to commence an action. 28
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APPROVED: 2/25/25 31
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