Official Summary Text
SB1621 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet
Assigned to
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PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR
S.B. 1621
obesity;
prevention; treatment; advisory council
Purpose
Establishes the
Obesity Treatment and Prevention Advisory Council (Advisory Council) to assess
the potential cost savings of providing Medicaid coverage for preventive care,
evaluating and recommending public policy and funding strategies and
identifying health care system gaps. Outlines Advisory Council membership,
duties and reporting requirements.
Background
Laws 2025, Chapter
218
established the Obesity Treatment Study Committee (Study Committee) to
study the cost, potential savings, effectiveness, health outcomes and value of
expanding coverage under the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System
(AHCCCS) to include comprehensive treatment for people living with obesity. In
2025, the Study Committee issued its final recommendations, including a
recommendation that the Legislature establish an advisory council to analyze
historical data, estimate potential cost-savings from covering preventative
care, evaluate and recommend public policy and funding strategies, identify
system gaps and produce a report providing guidance and recommendations to
educate the public, the Legislature and other government agencies and
departments, as appropriate (
Final
Report of the Obesity Treatment Study Committee
).
AHCCCS serves as
Arizona's Medicaid agency, which offers qualifying Arizona residents access to
healthcare programs, including behavioral health. AHCCCS consists of contracts
with contractors for the provision of hospitalization and medical care coverage
to members. (
A.R.S.
� 36-2903
).
Obesity is a
condition whereby an individual's weight exceeds what is generally considered
healthy for the individual's height and is commonly measured by an individual's
body mass index (BMI), which is calculated based on an individual's height and
weight comparison. An individual with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered
overweight, while an individual with a BMI exceeding 30 is considered to be
suffering from obesity. Individuals who fall under the categories of overweight
or obesity may be at increased risk for many related health problems (
National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
).
There is no
anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1.
Establishes
the Advisory Council, consisting of:
a)
two
members of the Senate from different political parties, one of whom to serve as
co-chair, appointed by the President of the Senate (President);
b)
two
members of the House of Representatives from different political parties, one
of whom to serve as co-chair, appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives (Speaker of the House).
c)
the
Director of AHCCCS or the Director's designee;
d)
two
members representing patient advocacy organizations with expertise in treating
people living with obesity, appointed by the President;
e)
two
members representing medical societies or physician organizations or who are
physicians with experience treating people living with obesity, appointed by
the Speaker of the House; and
f)
one
member who is a registered dietician with expertise in treating people living
with obesity through diet, exercise, lifestyle changes or behavior
modification, appointed by the Speaker of the House.
2.
Requires
the Advisory Council to:
a)
analyze
historical data and estimate the potential cost savings of providing Medicaid
coverage for preventative care;
b)
evaluate
and recommend public policy and funding strategies;
c)
identify
health care system gaps; and
d)
produce
a report providing guidance and recommendations to educate the public, the
Legislature and other government agencies and departments, as appropriate.
3.
Requires the Advisory Council to meet at the call of the chairpersons.
4.
Allows the cochairpersons of the Advisory Council to establish
subcommittees to address and report on select issues, as directed.
5.
Requires the Advisory Council to submit a report detailing its
activities, findings and recommendations for administrative or legislative
action to the Governor, President, Speaker of the House and the Secretary of
State by December 31, 2027, and December 31, 2028.
6.
Repeals the Advisory Council on January 31, 2029.
7.
Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
1.
Allows the cochairpersons of the Advisory Council to establish
subcommittees to address and report on select issues, as directed.
2.
Removes the stipulation that Advisory Council members are not eligible
to receive compensation but are eligible to receive reimbursement of expenses.
Senate Action
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Prepared by Senate Research
February 20, 2026
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Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
SB1621 - 572R - S Ver
Senate Engrossed
obesity; prevention;
treatment; advisory council
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SENATE BILL 1621
AN
ACT
Establishing the obesity treatment and
prevention advisory council.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1.
Obesity
treatment and prevention advisory council; membership; duties; reporting
requirements; delayed repeal
A. The obesity treatment
and prevention advisory council is established consisting of the following
members:
1. Two members of the
senate who are from different political parties and who are appointed by the
president of the senate. The president of the senate shall designate
one of these members to serve as cochairperson of the advisory council.
2. Two members of the house
of representatives who are from different political parties and who are
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. The
speaker of the house of representatives shall designate one of these members to
serve as cochairperson of the advisory council.
3. The director of the
Arizona health care cost containment system or the director's designee.
4. The director of the
department of health services or the director's designee.
5. Two members who
represent patient advocacy organizations with expertise in treating people
living with obesity and who are appointed by the president of the senate.
6. Two members who
represent medical societies or physician organizations or who are physicians
with experience treating people living with obesity and who are appointed by
the speaker of the house of representatives.
7. One member who is a
registered dietitian with expertise in the therapeutic treatment of people
living with obesity through diet, exercise, lifestyle changes or behavior
modification and who is appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
B. The advisory council
shall meet at the call of the cochairpersons.
The cochairpersons of the committee may establish
subcommittees to address select issues and report to the advisory council as
directed.
c.
The
advisory council shall:
1. Analyze historical data
and estimate the potential cost savings of providing medicaid coverage for
preventative care.
2. Evaluate and recommend
public policy and funding strategies.
3. Identify health care
system gaps.
4. Produce a report
providing guidance and recommendations to educate the public, the legislature
and other government agencies and departments, as appropriate.
d.
On or before December 31, 2027 and December 31,
2028, the obesity treatment and prevention advisory council shall submit a
report regarding the advisory council's activities, findings and
recommendations for administrative or legislative action to the governor, the
president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives and
shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.
e.
This
section is repealed from and after January 30, 2029.