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’s New $3 Million Liability
Last month, Arkansas Medicaid agreed to repay the federal government $3 million in compensation -- due to mistakes in health care provider payments that were originally made in 2013 and 2014. These mistakes came from two areas within a particular Medicaid payment program: the Department of Human Services (DHS) calculated payments amounts incorrectly, and providers falsely … [Read more...]
Poll: Majority Support Medicaid Work Requirements
A majority of Americans support requiring Medicaid enrollees to have a job in order to be eligible for the program, according to a recent poll from Morning Consult and Politico. According to the poll, 51 percent of registered voters strongly or somewhat support work requirements for Medicaid, while 37 percent are opposed. Arkansas legislators passed and Gov. Asa … [Read more...]
Retroactive Coverage Change Would Save Taxpayers Millions
The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) is planning on implementing a new change to Arkansas Works next month that would save taxpayers millions of dollars. The rule change by DHS stems from the 2016 special-session law creating (or renaming) the “Arkansas Works” Medicaid expansion program. The law authorizes DHS to submit a waiver to the federal government “to … [Read more...]
