The Warring Messages of the Private Option

May 17, 2013 5 Comments
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At the Saline County TEA Party meeting last week, Rep. Andy Mayberry told his constituents that the struggle over the private option made him feel like he was being forced to jump out of the third story of a burning building: There’s no way, if I just stand there, that I’m going to survive. I’m gonna burn. There’s a window over here that I can choose to jump out of and I might die in that fall. I know I’m going to die if I stay there and don’t do anything. But I might just survive … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

On the Arkansas Times, Part II

May 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
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David Ramsey of the Arkansas Times regularly distinguished himself this session with his thorough coverage of the debate over Medicaid expansion. His account of the creation of the “private option” -- perhaps the biggest increase in the size and scope of state government in my lifetime -- was educational and gripping. But occasionally his work told us more about David Ramsey than it did about Medicaid expansion. One of the areas where his article fell short was in his discussion of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Media, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Day of Reckoning in Saline County: Who Said It?

May 11, 2013 21 Comments
mystery legislator

Thursday night, the Saline County TEA Party hosted a town meeting so that their members could question the Saline County legislators who had supported the “private option.” About five state legislators representing Saline County attended; at least as many legislators from outside Saline County attended as well. Almost every public official who was there has been a friend of the Advance Arkansas Institute and, in some way, has fought for good-government reforms. But I have become … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Gallery, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Health Care Boondoggle: Medicaid Doesn’t Improve Health Outcomes

May 2, 2013 4 Comments
piggybank320

Any government program is, by definition, a failure -- unless it improves peoples’ lives. Some conservatives think that improving people’s lives through government is difficult at best (and sometimes impossible), and that the burden of proof is on the advocates of social programs to demonstrate that they truly help people. I tend to agree. So I watched in disbelief as many Arkansas Republican legislators recently went along with Governor Beebe’s plan to expand the Medicaid program -- … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Health Care Reform, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fig Leaves & “Moving On”

May 1, 2013 5 Comments
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Advance Arkansas Institute President Dan Greenberg was recently asked to summarize the battle over Medicaid reform for The Heritage Foundation. His piece is on their blog, The Foundry. Here's a taste: In plain English, the maneuver Arkansas was contemplating would gain the state no additional flexibility on benefits or cost sharing beyond the (very limited) scope allowed under current federal Medicaid rules. Thus, the notion that the “private option” could somehow produce significantly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Health Care Reform, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Legislature Expands Medicaid, Spurs Arkansas Project Response

April 20, 2013 11 Comments
tap apology

Today, I have issued the following statement: On behalf of The Arkansas Project, the Advance Arkansas Institute, and the advocates of limited government everywhere, I want to extend my deepest apologies to citizens and taxpayers in both Arkansas and in America for the inappropriate and insensitive expansion of Obamacare engineered by (among others) our state's Speaker of the House Davy Carter last week. Speaker Carter’s expansion of government will stifle job growth, implement Obamacare, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Five Arguments Against State Obamacare Exchanges

April 18, 2013 3 Comments
EXCHANGES

Yesterday, the state Senate completed a deal to fund Medicaid expansion in Arkansas. Today, they're considering a bill, HB1508, to setup state-run health insurance exchanges. Under Obamacare, states must either setup insurance exchanges or allow the federal government to do so. Two-thirds of states have declined to set one up themselves, thus leaving exchange creation to the feds. The latest paper from the Advance Arkansas Institute outlines five reasons why this is the wrong path for the state … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: , , , , ,

Obama Admin Admits Medicaid Expansion Won’t Protect Hospitals

April 17, 2013 Leave a Comment
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We interrupt this broadcast to bring you two news items that could change the shape of the Medicaid expansion debate happening at this very moment in Little Rock. First, you must read this article by Michael Cannon of Cato Institute that reveals: 1. The PPACA is not likely to reduce uncompensated care in 2014. 2. The PPACA won’t reduce the deficit. 3. Hospitals can stop crying poverty. 4. States don’t need to expand Medicaid to protect hospitals. How do we know all of this? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Health Care Reform, Medicaid, Obamacare Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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