Between March 2020 and May of this year, more than 170 Arkansas pharmacies will receive roughly $3.7 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money as payment for delinquent insurance claims supporting COVID-19 treatments.
The Arkansas Legislative Council approved the Arkansas Pharmacists Association’s budget proposal on Friday, after a panel approved it earlier this week.
For offering COVID-19 testing, immunizations, and treatments to uninsured Arkansans, pharmacists developed backlogs of unpaid insurance claims. The government Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) had a $20 billion program in place to cover this health care for the uninsured, but it ran out of money in March 2022.
According to Arkansas Pharmacists Association CEO John Vinson, the pharmacies with the longest wait times were those that provided monoclonal antibodies to persons who tested positive for COVID-19.
Vinson stated in a letter to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on June 23 that 110 pharmacies throughout Arkansas were allowed to provide monoclonal antibodies in 2021. These pharmacies, especially in rural areas, provided antibodies to almost 20,000 Arkansans, “reducing death and hospitalizations by 70-85%,” according to Vinson.
The capacity of pharmacies to deliver antibodies alleviated some of the load on hospitals that were “overwhelmed” by COVID-positive patients, according to Vinson and some Arkansas pharmacists on Tuesday.
In addition to HRSA, insurance companies from outside Arkansas did not pay COVID-19-related claims, according to Andy Babbitt, deputy director of the state Department of Finance and Administration.
According to Babbitt, pharmacies will be required to reimburse the state for ARPA relief payments if HRSA or insurance companies ever compensate them for existing claims.
Vinson told the Arkansas Advocate that he does not expect HRSA to reimburse pharmacies for these claims because they have not already been reimbursed.
Also on Friday, the Legislative Council approved a one-year extension of a contract with the consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal to examine 18 rural hospitals in 2022 to determine whether they are eligible for ARPA financial relief due to pandemic-related expenses.
Three rural hospitals have received ARPA funds so far, and lawmakers expect more requests.
The state will pay Alvarez and Marsal $1.8 million in ARPA funds to continue evaluating rural hospitals for another year.
Lawmakers approved both ARPA funding requests with no debate or dissent Friday.