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LITTLE ROCK - Controversy over health care reform dominated the
national headlines last year. The struggle has now moved to state
capitals.
In Arkansas, the Medicaid program is the battleground on which health
care reform is being contested. The governor is seeking authority from
the federal government to make what his administration terms "bold" and
"fundamental" changes in the structure of Arkansas Medicaid. The goal is
to prevent a severe budget crisis in the program.
Medicaid's finances in Arkansas are stable now, but there is a "real
sense of urgency" to hold down the growing costs, Arkansas officials
said in a proposal to the federal department that oversees the program.
Medicaid pays for the care of poor people, seniors in nursing homes and
people with disabilities. More than 770,000 people, about a fourth of
the population of Arkansas, were eligible for some sort of Medicaid
service last year. The cost of Medicaid has been rising steadily, with
growth in the double digits due to inflation in the health care sector
and the fact that more people are becoming eligible because they don't
have jobs or private insurance.
Arkansas state government pays for about a fourth of Medicaid costs and
the federal government pays the rest.
One provision in the national health care reform act will make even more
people eligible for Medicaid. In 2014 adults under 65 will become
eligible if their income is less than 133 percent of the federal poverty
level. In Arkansas that means Medicaid expansion will make an estimated
250,000 more people eligible.
The major health insurance firms in Arkansas have joined the governor.
Under his plan the private insurance companies would form a partnership
with Medicaid, which in effect is a government-run health insurance
agency.
In Medicaid and health care issues, the interests of insurance companies
don't coincide with the interests of "providers," the catch-all term
that officials use for physicians, hospitals, pharmacists and people who
offer medical services such as rehabilitation and therapy. The
governor's proposal says it would have a positive effect on providers,
particularly those in rural areas. Providers are studying the plan
carefully.
Feelings run high when legislative bodies consider changes in health
care, as the nation saw last year when the controversies in Washington
seemed to go on endlessly. Those emotions were seen in Little Rock last
week when the Senate Committee on Public Health debated SB 709 to
require state agencies implementing health care to make detailed impact
studies before carrying out any reforms.
LITTLE ROCK - Controversy over health care reform dominated the
national headlines last year. The struggle has now moved to state
capitals.
In Arkansas, the Medicaid program is the battleground on which health
care reform is being contested. The governor is seeking authority from
the federal government to make what his administration terms "bold" and
"fundamental" changes in the structure of Arkansas Medicaid. The goal is
to prevent a severe budget crisis in the program.
Medicaid's finances in Arkansas are stable now, but there is a "real
sense of urgency" to hold down the growing costs, Arkansas officials
said in a proposal to the federal department that oversees the program.
Medicaid pays for the care of poor people, seniors in nursing homes and
people with disabilities. More than 770,000 people, about a fourth of
the population of Arkansas, were eligible for some sort of Medicaid
service last year. The cost of Medicaid has been rising steadily, with
growth in the double digits due to inflation in the health care sector
and the fact that more people are becoming eligible because they don't
have jobs or private insurance.
Arkansas state government pays for about a fourth of Medicaid costs and
the federal government pays the rest.
One provision in the national health care reform act will make even more
people eligible for Medicaid. In 2014 adults under 65 will become
eligible if their income is less than 133 percent of the federal poverty
level. In Arkansas that means Medicaid expansion will make an estimated
250,000 more people eligible.
The major health insurance firms in Arkansas have joined the governor.
Under his plan the private insurance companies would form a partnership
with Medicaid, which in effect is a government-run health insurance
agency.
In Medicaid and health care issues, the interests of insurance companies
don't coincide with the interests of "providers," the catch-all term
that officials use for physicians, hospitals, pharmacists and people who
offer medical services such as rehabilitation and therapy. The
governor's proposal says it would have a positive effect on providers,
particularly those in rural areas. Providers are studying the plan
carefully.
Feelings run high when legislative bodies consider changes in health
care, as the nation saw last year when the controversies in Washington
seemed to go on endlessly. Those emotions were seen in Little Rock last
week when the Senate Committee on Public Health debated SB 709 to
require state agencies implementing health care to make detailed impact
studies before carrying out any reforms.
The director of the state Human Services Department said the bill could
jeopardize the Arkansas Medicaid program. In the hallways of the Capitol
outside the committee room, supporters of the bill held signs protesting
government attempts to change health care laws.
The bill failed to clear the committee, on a 4-to-4 vote. However, the
governor pledged to work with the bill's sponsors to make sure that the
costs of health care reform are quantified and made public.
It may be too late in this legislative session to enact major changes in
Medicaid, but in the near future the financial health of the program
will be a divisive and difficult political issue.
