LITTLE ROCK - The Emerging Therapies Act of 2017, signed into law by Governor Asa Hutchinson, grants pilot access to state employees and teachers' health plans to Regenerative Injection Therapies (RIT) as treatment of orthopedic conditions.

"This could potentially save the state $100 Million using regenerative medicine (RM) as an alternative to surgery or pharmaceuticals," said Morgan Pile, who worked with HB2014 sponsors to pass the law.

In the amended bill, the Employee Benefits Division will conduct a pilot study for state employees and teachers' health plans. At the end of 2018, the full study results will be reviewed with a goal of providing all insured Arkansans access to these therapies.

Dr. David L. Harshfield, Jr., a pioneer in regenerative cellular therapy, believes that (RM) allows us to move away from the existing Allopathic medicine model. Instead, RM is leading the "correction of medicine" by focusing on safe, effective and less costly patient centered regenerative solutions. With the transition to a value-based healthcare model, RM will continue to grow.

If we can fix our health care system, we will positively impact the health of Americans, and take pressure off our country's struggling economy. RM can treat both acute and chronic problems and is safe and effective at a fraction of the cost of the existing "standard of care."

Until now, there have been no financial incentives for wellness care. The current iteration of RM is based on safe, effective procedures, in most cases eliminating pharmaceuticals and unnecessary surgical procedures.

The State of Arkansas will now give patients a choice beyond drugs or surgery. With RM, physicians can help patients restore their health by utilizing the natural healing responses within the body.

Dr. Harshfield, an Interventional Radiologist and Medical Director for the Arkansas Institute of Regenerative Medicine, has been exploring autologous adult stem cells since graduating from UAMS in 1981.