The Warring Messages of the Private Option

May 17, 2013 5 Comments
38643_web_medicaid-signing

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: , , , , , , , , , , ,

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fig Leaves & “Moving On”

May 1, 2013 5 Comments
MedicaidChart_ARKANSAS_FINAL1

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: , , , , , , , ,

Et Tu, Republicans? No Meaningful Tax Cuts For Arkansans

April 18, 2013 7 Comments
promises_made

For many weeks, the people of Arkansas have been led to believe that once the legislature passed Medicaid expansion, it would then produce significant tax relief. We have documented these assurances in our previous coverage -- and repeatedly emphasized that the cuts were in no way linked to Medicaid expansion as a matter of policy, but perhaps only as a matter of politics. Boy, were we right. As you probably know, the Senate signed off on funding for Medicaid expansion yesterday, signaling … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2013 General Assembly, Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Republicans, Economic Policy, Gallery, Tax Reform 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: , , , , ,

Wow, Senator Rapert, That Was A Quick Three Weeks!

April 14, 2013 4 Comments
Before last year's election, Senator Rapert said expanding Medicaid would turn Arkansas into a "candy land" of entitlements.

Less than a week ago, Senator Jason Rapert announced at AAI’s Conway town hall that he wanted the legislature to delay passage of the “private option” Medicaid expansion. Less than 72 hours ago, Rapert reiterated his call for delay, specifying this time that the legislature needed to take three weeks off to go visit with constituents about the plan. Late last night, however, just 48 hours after re-issuing the call for delay across state media, Rapert announced his intentions to support the … [Read more...]

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

New Poll Shows Plurality Less Likely to Support “Private Option,” Oppose Medicaid Expansion

April 8, 2013 2 Comments
private option poll

Today, as the Advance Arkansas Institute kicks off their Medicaid town hall tour across the state, AAI has released a new scientific poll on the “private option” plan. The Senate passed the plan on Friday, although the results of this survey suggest that a 75 percent vote (which will be required in order to spend Medicaid money) will be difficult to achieve. According to the poll, a plurality of Arkansans are “less likely” to support expansion under the private option model -- they … [Read more...]

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