Stories
BPS has a 90% plus success rate for our clients. Our commitment to excellence makes us your trusted partner for achieving legislative victories. Read more about how we have helped our clients achieve their advocacy and policy goals.
Bi-Partisan Strategies partnered with the AR Pharmacy Association to introduce HB1481 (Share the Savings) legislation which is now Act 333. Pharmaceutical manufacturers often give significant rebates to pharmacy payers on brand medications. Payers are supposed to use these rebates to lower premiums for all members. In 2023, the Arkansas State Legislature passed HB1481; requiring health plans and PBMs to pass manufacturer rebates directly to members at the point of sale. POS rebates reduce the gross cost of a rebated drug and also reduce cost sharing for patients. Act 333 requires these pass-through savings at the point of sale for members whose out-of-pocket costs are based on the cost of the drug. This reduces their out-of-pocket costs. Arkansas was one of the first states to pass such legislation. In 2023 Arkansas
BPS worked with Energy providers to introduce SB295 which amends the Renewable Energy Development Act of 2001, a net metering bill that caused an undue cost shift to energy customers who did not or could not install solar panels to offset their energy costs. This bill prevents cost-shifting and ensures fairness to all ratepayers. The effects of 1:1 net metering would ultimately result in a shift of millions of dollars onto the bills of non-solar users in the state of AR. After a vigorous fight in both chambers of the legislature, SB295 passed and was signed into law and is now Act 278.
“Bi-Partisan Strategies is a top lobby firm in Arkansas. They have provided great council and practical strategies to lobby our causes successfully.”
In 2023 Bi-Partisan Strategies partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Arkansas Council for Behavioral Health to run HB1276. This legislation requires insurance carriers to stop using “Step Therapy” in the administration of antipsychotic medications. Mental health medications affect people in different ways, and individuals need to be able to access the medication that works best for them and their individual health needs. Sometimes, health insurers may request or require patients to demonstrate unsuccessful treatment on one or more insurer-preferred medications before they receive coverage for the medication that their physician recommends. This practice is also known as “step therapy” or “fail first.” Step therapy results in patients not being able to access the treatments they need on time. NAMI believes that all people with mental health conditions deserve access to effective medication and treatment options. After extensive work in both chambers and with heavy opposition from insurance carriers HB1276 passed and is now Act577.
Bi-Partisan Strategies engaged on behalf of the ADA to ensure that students with diabetes had trained, volunteer, and in-school resources to assist with the administration of insulin during a medical emergency. In the face of abject opposition by the Arkansas Nurses Association, BPS secured support from entities representing education and parents, ultimately passing legislation that created Act 833.
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) represents the leading manufacturers and marketers of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and dietary supplements. Every dollar spent by consumers on OTC medicines saves the U.S. healthcare system $6-$7, contributing a total of $102 billion in savings each year. BPS worked closely with CHPA to introduce HB1292. With 37 House sponsors and 16 Senate sponsors the bill had substantial bi-partisan support in both chambers. HB1292 specified that pharmacies would receive access to a real-time electronic logbook used in 37 other states, to track the purchase of medicines containing pseudoephedrine. This technology monitors all prescription PSE purchases in real time to prevent meth criminals from exceeding legal limits. It also provides law enforcement with an effective way of using the records already required by state and federal law to identify meth cooks. This system has been instrumental in not only aiding in identifying meth labs but also in prosecuting meth cases around the country.
Founded in 1997, United Rentals is the largest equipment rental company in the world, with a store network nearly three times the size of any other provider, and locations in 49 states and 10 Canadian provinces. BPS worked with United Rentals to introduce HB1203. This bill provided that a person in the business of renting heavy equipment property could invoice a recovery fee equal to 1.25% of the rental charge in the state of Arkansas. The total amount of the recovery fee collected shall be used solely to pay ad valorem taxes levied upon the heavy equipment property located in the State. The bill also provides that any money collected as recovery fees that remain in the business’s account after the deadline to pay property taxes shall be presumed abandoned and paid to the Auditor of the State. HB1203 helped equalize the tax impact on the heavy equipment rental industry as compared to surrounding states and improved Arkansas dealers’ economic competitiveness.
