Attorney asks judge to block Arkansas sex-offender statute

LITTLE ROCK—An attorney for an Arkansas doctor convicted of possessing child pornography 13 years ago told a federal judge Thursday that a new state law prohibiting registered sex offenders from receiving Medicaid funds is more about politics than serving the public good.

Attorneys for Dr. Lonnie Joseph Parker and the state appeared before a federal judge over Parker’s efforts to temporarily block enforcement of the ban, approved earlier this year by the state Legislature, as he challenges its constitutionality. Parker, who practices in Hope, was convicted in 2000 of possessing child pornography but has long maintained his innocence.

John Hardy, Parker’s attorney, argued that there was no rational basis for the state to prohibit his client from receiving Medicaid reimbursements merely because of his status as a registered sex offender.

Parker served more than four years in prison. In 2005, the state Medical Board reinstated his license to practice medicine in Arkansas.

Earlier this month, Parker and three of his patients filed a lawsuit challenging the restriction on Medicaid, the federalstate program that helps pay for health care for the needy and disabled.

An attorney for the state Department of Human Services said Arkansas has a legitimate interest in protecting its Medicaid patients and that the restriction fits in with that longstanding policy. DHS attorney Mark White cited the close and personal interaction that patients have with their doctors as a reason for needing that protection.