Arkansas' 1st-in-the nation Medicaid expansion survives

Source: Associated Press

Arkansas' 1st-in-the nation Medicaid expansion survives
By ANDREW DeMILLO, Associated Press | February 5, 2015

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas' first-in-the-nation program using federal funds to purchase private insurance for the poor survived another year after the state House reauthorized the program on Thursday, despite an influx of new Republican lawmakers elected on a vow to kill the hybrid Medicaid expansion.

The House voted 82-16 to reauthorize funding through June 30, 2016, for the "private option" that was crafted two years ago as an alternative to expanding Medicaid under the federal health law. Arkansas was the first state to win federal approval for such an approach, touted as a compromise for Republican-leaning states.

The reauthorization heads to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who two weeks ago called on lawmakers to continue the program while a proposed task force looks at alternatives for covering the more than 213,000 currently on the program. The House approved legislation setting up the task force by an 80-16 vote, sending the bill to the Senate for a final vote.

The private option had sharply divided Republicans, who control the state Legislature and have made major gains primarily by running against President Barack Obama's health care law. The future of the program appeared in jeopardy after the election of several new lawmakers whose campaigns focused almost exclusively on ending the private option.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Arkansas-1st-in-the-nation-Medicaid-expansion-6065061.php