Arkansas Code Title 23. Public Utilities and Regulated Industries § 23-99-1402. Legislative findings and intent

(1) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Hospitals Without Walls program allows participating ambulatory surgery centers to convert to licensed hospitals during the period of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency;

(2) In cooperation and in an effort to promote public health, the Department of Health suspended portions of its Rules for Hospitals and Related Institutions according to the Governor's Executive Order 20-06 and 20-16 to allow the issuance of hospital licenses to facilities previously licensed as ambulatory surgery centers in this state that enrolled as a hospital under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Hospitals Without Walls program; and

(3) Legislative clarification is necessary to clarify the obligations of a healthcare insurer in negotiating and contracting with healthcare providers in order to prohibit anticompetitive practices and to promote public health in this state.