Old Arkansas "Concierge" Law

This will be placed in Arkansas code Section 23-60-104 and 23-76-103(c).  This piece of legislation fails on multiple levels:

• It never mentions the phrase "direct primary care" (DPC physicians benefit from avoiding "business of insurance" language much more than concierge - this has historically not been an issue in the concierge community)
• It uses (and poorly defines) the term concierge - a group that is less likely to require protection from the insurance commissioner
• It fails to narrowly define the group of physicians that fit within the "concierge" definition
• It fails to provide any consumer protections
• In the event it faced legal challenge, there is a high likelihood it will not survive judicial scrutiny
• It fails to address the concern that DPC might be defined as a "Health Maintenance Organization"

The law states that "Concierge service arrangement means a contractual agreement between a licensed healthcare provider and an individual to provide select medical services as specified under a medical arrangement for an established fee." This is a vague and useless definition.