Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Government
October 03, 2015 01:00 AM

Analysis: Arkansas panel moves closer to Medicaid proposals

Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    A much-anticipated report to lawmakers on Arkansas' hybrid Medicaid expansion won't resolve the muddied future of a program providing coverage to more than 200,000 people. But it could at least provide some clarity on the options the Legislature faces, and how difficult finding consensus on the program will be.

    The task force formed to look at the state's "private option" is expected to hear from the Stephen Group, the consultant lawmakers hired to study the expansion and the overall Medicaid program. Wednesday's report by the consultant marks a turning point for the 16-member panel, with a December deadline fast approaching to issue recommendations on the Medicaid expansion.

    "It's always easiest when you can say magically it'll happen somehow in the future," said Rep. Charlie Collins (R-Fayetteville), who co-chairs the task force. "(Wednesday) will be the hard cold snap of reality in my view where we're going to see sets of actual concrete choices."

    Collins said the consultant's report will go beyond the "private option," which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for low-income residents.

    Crafted in 2013 as an alternative to expanding Medicaid under the federal health law, the program was spared for another year after lawmakers reauthorized it and created the task force at Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson's request.

    The report is expected to assess changes Hutchinson has said he wants to see in the program to limit its benefits and eligibility. Hutchinson told lawmakers in August he supports keeping the private option if the federal government gives Arkansas flexibility to impose the new limits.

    The report will look at broader changes to Medicaid, and also likely will address how to find the more than $50 million in savings to the program Hutchinson has called for. Hutchinson has said the cuts are needed to prepare the state for when it begins paying for a portion of the expansion's cost in 2017.

    Hutchinson's announcement has put the state's role in another key part of the health law in limbo. The governor asked a board to halt its work setting up a state-run marketplace where consumers can purchase insurance under the law. The state is currently using the federal exchange, but had been given conditional approval to set up its own.

    The consultant's initial findings have already encouraged supporters of the private option, with a report in August projecting that the program would have a $438 million net benefit to Arkansas between 2017 and 2021.

    Lawmakers on both sides of the debate say they're closely watching such numbers to see what the consultant's recommendations would cost the state and what they would mean for those on the program.

    "The numbers should drive the decisions because we know what we're doing now is not sustainable," said Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R-Rogers), an opponent of the private option who chairs the Senate Public Health Committee and is the acting co-chair of the Medicaid task force. "I think the numbers, that's part of getting to the solution."

    The report obviously won't change the politics of the private option, which has become the definitive division among Republicans as they have taken over as the majority party in the state. GOP backers of the plan have touted it as a conservative alternative to expanding Medicaid, but opponents have cast it as an embrace of the law Republicans regularly deride as "Obamacare."

    Democrats who have been unified in their support of the program have been wary of changing the program in a way that appeases conservatives but jeopardizes coverage.

    The report coming this week is unlikely to change that dynamic. But it may at least offer a clue on whether there's a path forward that would keep together the uneasy union of private option supporters.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    abortion-pill-misoprostol-legal
    Abortion pill case advances to appeals court, on course to Supreme Court
    young doctor medical resident
    Federal physician recruitment program at risk
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare Alert: Sign up for this breaking news email to be kept in the loop as urgent healthcare business news unfolds.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing