There’s a race to the left in the Democratic Second Congressional District primary. Among other things, three of the candidates are supporting what they call “Medicare for All.” This may sound nice (Medicare is a popular program, after all), but it is nothing more than advocacy for a single-payer system. More accurately, these plans should be called what they used to be named … [Read more...]
Medicaid Work Requirement Gets Green Light
Governor Asa Hutchinson scored a big win yesterday when the Trump Administration approved state plans to impose a work requirement on its Medicaid expansion population, those covered by the Arkansas Works program. This is a key part of Gov. Hutchinson’s efforts to sell his Medicaid expansion – which originated in Obamacare -- as a “conservative” health care effort. According … [Read more...]
Medicaid Expansion Proving Costly
Governor Asa Hutchinson announced his budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Surprise! Medicaid is going to cost a lot more next year than it does in this year. Actually, anyone who follows state budgets knows that this is no surprise at all. Medicaid spending tends to go in only one direction. This trend is not helped by the state’s decision to leap on the Obamacare … [Read more...]
Medicaid Work Requirement Likely Coming to Arkansas
Governor Hutchinson has made it clear that he wants a work requirement for able-bodied Medicaid recipients. It appears that President Trump is on the verge of granting the governor his wish. When he supported expanding Medicaid as allowed under Obamacare, Gov. Hutchinson asked the federal government for a few tweaks to the program. One of the modifications requested was a … [Read more...]
Cotton Helps Kill the Individual Mandate
The mandate that you must buy health insurance or face a hefty penalty is dead. Whether you think this is a good idea or a bad idea, you have to acknowledge that Senator Tom Cotton played a key role in making this happen. As we noted on TAP last month, Sen. Cotton was a leading proponent of including the individual mandate repeal in tax reform legislation. The final version … [Read more...]
