Should America emulate Arkansas’s expansion of Medicaid through Obamacare? That’s what State Rep. Michael John Gray, the chairman of the state Democratic Party, said in a recent email to supporters. Gray linked to a recent op-ed by former Gov. Mike Beebe and Mack McLarty in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette last week. Beebe and McLarty said: Rather than dictating … [Read more...]
Arkansas Health Insurers Ask State For Another Round Of Rate Hikes
Arkansas health insurance companies selling Obamacare plans are asking for rate increases as high as 22 percent in 2018. According to the Arkansas Insurance Department (AID), the average rate changes requested are a 7.8 percent increase for Blue Cross Blue Shield, 22 percent for QualChoice Inc., and 9.9 percent for Ambetter. More than 300,000 Arkansans would be affected … [Read more...]
Here’s Gov. Hutchinson’s “Big Problem” With The Senate Healthcare Bill
Arkansas has a “big problem” on the horizon if the Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act becomes law, according to Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Hutchinson said the bill does some “good things” such as reducing costs, cutting the deficit, and providing more options for the state to run its Medicaid program. However, Hutchinson lamented that states like Arkansas, which expanded … [Read more...]
Report: Premiums Up 128 Percent Since ‘13
Health insurance premiums in Arkansas have increased by 128 percent since 2013, according to a report released this week by the Department of Health and Human Services. Let’s put this into context: nationally, health insurance premiums have (on average) merely doubled since 2013. From the report: Comparing the 2013 average premiums using the MLR (Medical Loss Ratio) data … [Read more...]
DHS: Few Enrollees Working After Work Referral
A small number of enrollees in the Arkansas Works / Medicaid expansion program attempted to find employment after receiving a work referral, according to the Department of Human Services (DHS). According to numbers sent to The Arkansas Project by a DHS spokeswoman, 144,716 enrollees were sent referrals to the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) since January. … [Read more...]
