The Arkansas Department of Human Services is presenting its budget to legislators and is not asking for an increase for the next fiscal year.
DHS Director John Selig told legislators on Thursday that he appreciates how tight general revenues are.
The Joint Budget Committee is delaying until Tuesday a discussion of the private health insurance option that legislators adopted last year to expand the Medicaid program.
Selig says the private option has $400 million in federal money for this fiscal year.
In fiscal 2015, in what's to be a full year of implementation, Selig says the state is to get $1.5 billion in federal money. But it's an open question whether the Republican-controlled House and Senate will continue the program.
