By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
A quarter of a million working poor in Arkansas are a little closer to getting health-care insurance after an endorsement Monday by the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tem—both Republicans.
And 500 Mississippi County area residents are a little closer to high-paying jobs as the Senate passed, by a vote of 26-6, SB 820, authorizing millions of dollars in state bonds for the $1.1 billion Big River steel plant.
Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot) voted against the plant. Now it goes to the House Agriculture and Economic Development Committee.
On Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in a short letter to Gov. Mike Beebe, wrote that Arkansas’ proposed private option health-insurance plan appeared to be consistent with the federal Medicaid expansion statute requirements.
In a Monday news conference, Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, and Senate President Pro Tempore Michael Lamou-reaux, R-Russellville, endorsed the private option for health care expansion, and, late Tuesday, Republicans released their version of the in-lieu-of-Medicaid expansion with some caveats.
In part because of the skepticism of Republican lawmakers over Medicaid expansion -— part of what they call Obamacare — the state has opted for another route generally known as private option, although it will still be Medicaid funded.
Democrats were waiting to see the Republican plan late Tuesday, Rep. Mark Perry, D-Jacksonville, said.
“I like it,” Perry said about Sebelius’ letter. “It gives us the green light to implement the Medicaid expansion.”
He said Democrats would review the Republican plan, agree on some things and get it done.
“We’re ready to get it resolved and do what’s best for the citizens of Arkansas,” Perry said.
Legislative leaders are in the final stages of preparing bill language to accompany the required supermajority vote to use the federal funding.
Although Beebe said Sebelius’ response was positive when he raised the issue in February as governors traveled to Washington, members of the General Assembly have awaited written confirmation that the federal government would fund private option here in lieu of Medicaid expansion.
While far from a done deal, private option seems to appeal to Republicans because it operates through private enterprise and it seems distanced from Obamacare while still providing health insurance for the working poor. Democrats tend to like it because expansion is funded by Medicaid and the end result is the same, although the cost is not necessarily the same.
In her April 1 letter — a response to a March 13 memo from Beebe seeking her blessing for the plan — Sebelius expressed support for the private option concept, according to Beebe.
“On behalf of the administration, I would like to express our interest in the innovative approach to further expanding access to health insurance coverage through plans participating in the Health Insurance Marketplace that Arkansas is considering,” the secretary wrote. “The concept in the memo appears to be generally consistent with the requirements of the Medicaid statute; we look forward to reviewing your demonstration proposal.”
Sebelius wrote, “Recognizing the decisions facing your General Assembly and the impact on your Health Insurance Marketplace, let me assure you that we will work with you on this innovative approach for Arkansas. To that end, on Friday I released additional guidance I hope will help inform states like Arkansas as you work to finalize your plan.”
Beebe said, “This is the written confirmation we’ve anticipated after our February meeting in Washington, D.C. Now it’s time for action in Arkansas.
He continued, “Members of the General Assembly and my administration have built a model that will provide working Arkansans with greater access to health care through private-sector insurance companies. Our innovative approach can create a national example of a state using Medicaid premium-assistance funds in an insurance marketplace that best serves its citizens.”
Beebe remains cautiously optimistic that support for the Arkansas private option continues to build, according to a Tuesday press release.
While most lawmakers expressed support for some version of extended health care, some have expressed a desire for consideration either at a special session or at next year’s financial legislative session.
Rep. Patti Julian, D-North Little Rock, said Tuesday, “Let’s move forward during the current session. Some want to wait until next year. I’d like to see us deal with it now.”
She said Sebelius’ letter will make it easier to pass a health care insurance bill, especially since a recent study by the Department of Human Services suggests the costs will not be as great as initially anticipated.
Meanwhile, nearly all of the tax-cut bill is being held in committee awaiting consensus, according to Julian. She said lawmakers are waiting to figure out how much they can afford to cut.
“We passed through a lot of bills (Monday),” she said. “We suspended the ruling requiring 48 hours between passing a bill out of committee and considering it on the House floor.”
Now it can emerge from a committee with a do-pass recommendation one day and be considered on the floor the next.
“I suspect we will work long hours and perhaps Saturdays to ensure we get business done before April 19,” Julian said.
Julian, who is on the House Transportation Committee, says the bill to move hundreds of millions of dollars a year from the state’s general fund to finance roads and highways failed by a single vote to get out of committee.
She said she originally liked the idea of moving sales taxes from vehicles, tires, batteries and auto parts, but she realized that those hundreds of millions of dollars would be at the expense of higher education and other programs funded by general revenues, including a lot of programs that benefit cities in her district.
