To Create The Community Health Worker Act; And To Establish A Statewide Certification For Community Health Workers.
HB1258 creates the Community Health Worker Act and adds a new chapter to Arkansas law establishing a statewide certification system for community health workers. The bill defines who qualifies as a community health worker and directs the Department of Health to issue certifications to eligible individuals who are at least 18 years old and meet one of several pathways based on prior certification, work experience, supervised training, or documented experience demonstrating core competency. It also requires an application fee, sets a two-year certification term, and requires continuing education and renewal fees for recertification.
The bill also sets out the scope of practice for certified community health workers, limiting them to non-licensed services such as cultural mediation, health education, care coordination, case management, navigation of health and social services, coaching, outreach, basic assessments, and certain direct services that do not require a professional license or specialized training. It authorizes the Department of Health to suspend or revoke certification for fraud, unethical conduct, violations of the chapter, or failure to meet requirements, and allows the department to adopt rules. The Arkansas Community Health Worker Association, working with the Division of Higher Education, must maintain a public registry of approved training programs. The bill further makes patient and personal information obtained by community health workers confidential and exempt from disclosure under the Arkansas FOIA, and it requires Medicaid and health benefit plans to compensate certified community health workers for covered services.
HB1258 would add a new regulatory framework to Title 17 of the Arkansas Code for community health workers, creating a formal state certification process and defining the profession’s permissible duties. It affects the Department of Health, the Arkansas Community Health Worker Association, the Division of Higher Education, Medicaid, and private and public health benefit plans by tying certification to training standards, oversight, confidentiality rules, and reimbursement eligibility. It also creates a new statutory basis for treating community health worker records as confidential and privileged, with penalties for improper disclosure.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support based on its strong floor vote margins in both chambers and concurrence on the Senate amendment. The vote totals suggest little opposition overall, indicating general agreement with formalizing the role of community health workers and expanding access to community-based health support. No committee transcript was provided, so the available record shows support through voting history rather than detailed debate.
The main points of potential contention are likely to have been the creation of a new certification regime, the role of the Arkansas Community Health Worker Association in approving training and shaping certification pathways, and the requirement that Medicaid and health benefit plans reimburse certified workers. Other possible concerns include the confidentiality provisions, the scope of services allowed without a professional license, and whether the bill could affect existing health professions or personal care attendant roles. However, the voting record suggests these issues did not generate significant opposition in final passage.