ARKANSAS MEDICAID UPDATED— Arkansas will submit its proposal to overhaul its Medicaid expansion program to the federal government next month. The new program: ARHOME stands for Arkansas Health & Opportunity for Me which will still use the private insurance model and use Medicaid funding to purchase health plans for participants under the private option similar to the previous plan Arkansas Works. At a press conference yesterday, Governor Hutchinson explained the ARHome program takes a different approach.
" . . . we are tired of being low on the totem pole, low in terms of the state rankings of health outcomes; we want to improve those in every area." Asa Hutchinson, Governor of Arkansas
"The new approach that we have sends the message that we are serious about the healthcare of Arkansans," Hutchinson said. "We're serious about improving their health and we are tired of being low on the totem pole, low in terms of the state rankings of health outcomes; we want to improve those in every area."
Unlike Arkansas Works, ARHome has no work requirement, but offers incentives to do so. The program would provide coverage for low-income families who make below 138% of the federal poverty level. The federal government will cover about 90% of the funding, while the state pays for the remaining 10%, which is about $200 million per year. Hutchinson expects federal approval of ARHome by November or December.
