Three ACRE experts recently appeared in “Believe in Arkansas” segments hosted by Americans for Prosperity.

BT����Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl discussed on March 25th.

For more on Horpedahl’s recent research and testimony on sales taxes in Arkansas, check out this ACRE Review post on February 2nd.

ACRE Economic Policy Analyst Alex Kanode to help remove barriers to opportunity for Arkansans on March 11th.

For more on Kanode’s recent research and testimony on occupational licensing, check out this ACRE Review post on March 17th.

BT����Associate Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. David Mitchell on February 25th.

For more on Mitchell’s recent research and testimony on scope of practice issues, check out this ACRE Review post on March 17th.

By Caleb Taylor

What changes can Arkansas legislators make to improve residents’ access to care?

Arkansas’s primary care shortage is a result of its “excessively restrictive” medical scope of practice laws, according to ACRE Director and BT����Associate Professor of Economics Dr. David Mitchell in “” published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on March 13th.

Mitchell writes:

One cause of our primary-care shortage is Arkansas’ excessively restrictive medical scope of practice laws. These laws don’t allow qualified, independently practicing nurse practitioners (NPs) to meet Arkansans’ needs in areas where there aren’t enough physicians practicing. That may soon change. House Bill 1254 would allow NPs to be Medicaid primary-care providers, and House Bill 1258 would enable them to attain full practice authority after a three-year transition period. These are great steps toward a healthier Arkansas.”

In the op-ed, Mitchell notes only 5 counties out of 75 in Arkansas are not designated as health professional shortage areas by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

Mitchell also on March 15th at the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee. (Mitchell’s testimony begins at 3:06:48 P.M.)

Mitchell said:

The outcomes are what we care about. That’s what’s really important. Arkansas doesn’t have enough providers. We’d like to see more NPs move into these underserved areas. If they can’t see Medicaid patients in underserved areas where most people are on Medicaid, they can’t be financially viable. They can’t open a practice if they won’t be financially viable.”

and both have already passed the House and passed the Senate committee Monday, March 15th. Both will now be considered by the full Senate.

For more on the topic, you can read “A Broad Consensus on Expanding Nurse Practitioners’ Scope of Practice” here.

Check out our one-pager infographic and research distillation.

You can also read another of Mitchell’s recent publications on this issue “Addressing Arkansas’s Health Services Shortages By Empowering Nurse Practitioners” here.

For more of ACRE’s research on nurse practitioners, check out our labor market regulation page.

Mitchell is also the co-author with Jordan Pfaff and Zachary Helms of an ACRE Policy Brief  entitled “Solving Arkansas’s Primary Care Problems by Empowering Nurse Practitioners.”

By Caleb Taylor

How can Arkansas improve access to mental health care? 

Zak Massey, a former ACRE Research Fellow, discussed the benefits to Arkansas’s mental health outcomes of expanding scope of practice for nurse practitioners in an op-ed published in Arkansas Business on July 27 entitled “.”

Massey writes:

Nurse practitioners can provide additional mental health care in underserved areas. They are educated in specialties, allowing some to be board-certified as psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners. Their training prepares them to provide pharmacological and therapeutic treatment for anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and much more.”

However, state law currently restricts nurse practitioners from practicing to the full extent of their training and education.

Massey writes:

But in the absence of a contract with a doctor, a nurse practitioner is unable to prescribe medications for those with mental illness. Arkansas law prevents a nurse practitioner from practicing independently without a written collaborative agreement with a physician. However, some physicians do not accept collaborative relationships. Twenty-two states do not require similar agreements. If NPs were allowed to act independently, more Arkansans would have access to care.”

Arkansas legislators have previously considered removing this restriction. ACRE Director and BT����Associate Professor of Economics Dr. David Mitchell spoke before both the House and Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Labor committees on February 20 and February 26, 2019 about the need for increased scope of practice for nurse practitioners in Arkansas.

Members of the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee considered sponsored by Senator Dave Wallace. You can watch the livestream of the committee meeting . Members of the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee considered sponsored by Representative Robin Lundstrum. You can watch the livestream of the committee meeting .

Both bills failed narrowly in committee but this legislation will likely be deliberated on again in the next legislative session in 2021.  

For more of ACRE’s research on nurse practitioners, check out our labor market regulation page.

Mitchell is also the co-author with Jordan Pfaff and Zachary Helms of an ACRE Policy Brief entitled “Solving Arkansas’s Primary Care Problems by Empowering Nurse Practitioners.”