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Arkansas Approved For Changes To 'Private Option'

medicaid funding

The federal government on Wednesday approved Arkansas' request for changes to the state's compromise Medicaid expansion that will require recipients to make monthly co-payments to health savings accounts and put limits on transportation for routine doctor visits and other non-emergency services.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a letter to Arkansas Department of Human Services Director John Selig that it has approved the requests.
 
State lawmakers earlier this year required Arkansas to win approval for the changes by Feb. 1 to keep the program alive.
 
"From our perspective, these are important changes to the program," Department of Human Services spokeswoman Amy Webb said. "This has been a very, I don't want to say contentious, but an issue that everyone has been watching very closely."
 
Those at 50 to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, roughly $5,800 to $15,500 for someone who's single with no children, would have to pay $5 to $15 per month into health insurance accounts, Webb said.
 
The money will be placed in what are called Independence Accounts that Suzanne Bierman, assistant director of the division of medical services at the Department of Human Services said she believes will lead to recipients becoming more involved in their care.
 
"I think the IA is a new and innovative program that will help encourage consumers to learn about health insurance and how it works," Bierman said.
 
State Senate President Pro Tem Jonathan Dismang, who helped come up with the private option, called the approval "a step in the right direction,"
 
Dismang said it is too early to say whether the approval will be enough to win the required 75 percent vote in both the House and Senate to reauthorize the private option when the Legislature meets starting in January.
 
"We had a pretty resounding election, quite a few individuals campaigned against the private option," Dismang, R-Beebe, said. "We've asked them to study the program."
 
The issue has divided Republicans, who hold 24 of the 35 state Senate seats and 64 of the 100 seats in the House after the November elections.
 
Republican Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson has not said whether he will support reauthorizing the private option.
 
Webb said it will now be up to lawmakers and Hutchinson to determine the future of the program.
 
"We have a new governor coming in, a lot of new legislators coming in. I know they're all committed to learning about the program, what the challenges are," Webb said.
 

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