Health boards would receive operating funds for fiscal year 2027

The Department of Health would be allowed to spend the listed amounts for board staff, daily operations, investigations, student loans, scholarships, grants, and other programs. The provisions cover numerous health boards and programs, including nursing, medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, psychology, social work, spinal cord services, and related licensing boards. Money could be spent only for the listed agency purposes and under state fiscal, procurement, accounting, and salary laws. Some amounts would come from specific cash, board, federal, or other funds rather than from one general source. The appropriations apply to the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, and the act is stated to take effect July 1, 2026, if enacted.

Several boards would be authorized or required to use funds for targeted activities, including outside complaint investigators, professional education programs, fund transfers, and medical residency support. The provisions cover the Chiropractic Examiners, Dental Examiners, Medical Board, Nursing Board, Podiatric Medicine Board, and Spinal Cord Commission. The chiropractic board would use up to $10,000 for an outside investigator and would report complaints and investigation findings each year. The dental, medical, and podiatric boards could spend stated amounts collected from each licensed professional on qualified Arkansas nonprofit programs for healthcare professionals with alcohol or drug abuse problems. The Nursing Board could request up to $100,000 for its student loan program, but the Chief Fiscal Officer must approve the transfer. The Medical Board would transfer up to $500,000, or the available amount, to the Graduate Medical Education Fund for residency expansion. These special provisions generally run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027; the Nursing Board transfer provision begins July 30, 2026, and the medical residency transfer begins when the act takes effect.

A physician offered a full-time job in a medically underserved area would have to meet the listed education, practice, license, certification, and examination requirements to qualify under this provision. The provision applies to foreign-trained physicians offered full-time employment by a healthcare provider serving a medically underserved or designated shortage area in Arkansas. The physician must hold an active, unencumbered medical license from a foreign country. The physician must have practiced medicine during the four years before applying. The physician must have credential review and a valid certificate from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and must pass its examination. The provision would apply when a covered physician applies for an Arkansas medical license under the stated pathway.