Currently HB1706 does not codify patient rights. Parents and advocates do not see any guarantees that this bill will serve patients well.
We ask the Public Health & Welfare committee, and all Arkansas legislators, to hold this bill until the following items are added to HB1706:
1. A patient bill of rights
2. A Community Advisory Committee
3. Public reports showing progress post implementation
The language has been proposed (below), making it easy for DHS and Representative Pilkington to add them.
We want to collaborate and communicate to help make this bill more acceptable for recipients, thus avoiding a second capitated managed care bill in a special session.
Medicaid Saves Lives 
Wondered if parents had considered asking for this bill to just remove children birth to 5 and therapy for school aged kids? Or remove pediatric patients birth-21 from this bill?
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The providers may have the power to suggest that, but this is what the advocacy groups suggested we could do to try to make this better for the patients. The team representing the bill who we met with seemed reluctant to make any changes to what they had.
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