Committee approves SB 181 with amendment after insurer and sponsor negotiate specialist list

The Senate Insurance & Commerce Committee voted to approve SB 181 as amended after negotiations between the sponsor and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arkansas. Senator Kim Hammer presented the broadly redrafted bill, which removes an advisory council that had been set to sunset, creates a rulemaking path for the insurance commissioner, and directs coordination with a Center of Excellence at Children’s Hospital and UAMS for diagnoses and reporting.

Sponsor testimony stressed that the amendment incorporates safeguards, a protocol tied to the Center of Excellence and routine appeal processes. Senator Hammer said the bill is modeled after measures adopted in about a dozen other states and is intended to expand structured, statewide care while keeping checks and balances. She told the committee the Center of Excellence has handled only a few IVIG cases to date and that the bill requires adherence to established clinical protocols.

Max Greenwood, representing Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, opposed listing an 'immunologist' among required consulting specialists, saying Arkansas immunologists are typically allergists and might not have relevant experience with the rare disease in question. Greenwood also provided a pharmacy cost estimate for an IVIG dosing event of roughly $20,000 to $30,000 depending on weight. After back‑and‑forth the committee voted to expunge an earlier amendment and adopt written language striking the word 'immunologist' (and the following comma) from the amendment. The measure passed as amended by voice vote.

The committee directed staff to incorporate the textual change before sending the bill to the Senate floor. Sponsors and industry representatives agreed that finer points could be adjusted on the floor; the committee recorded the passage as amended.