State lawmakers ready to tackle Obamacare issues

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State lawmakers ready to tackle Obamacare issues

Appears our very own Sen. Keith Ingram, D-West Memphis, is taking somewhat of a “kinder and gentler” approach to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s plan to keep and rework the state’s version of the controversial Obamacare.

Ingram, who publicly criticized the governor’s influence over the special task force (which we were reminded by Ingram was a creation of the Legislature), now tells the media that he didn’t see anything in the draft bill that was a “deal-breaker” that would cause minority Democrats in the Senate to oppose the legislation.

The one aspect of Hutchinson’s proposed plan that Ingram says still concerns him allows the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) to stop providing retroactive coverage to those individuals covered under Medicaid expansion.

Currently the program covers medical expenses incurred up to 90 days before a “poor” person is even enrolled in the state program. So, if an uninsured Arkansan has had a medical issue or was under medical treatment due to a accident two-tothree months ago and all of a sudden now wants to sign up for Arkansas’ health care program those prior medical expenses would be paid for with Medicaid funds.

“There should be some retroactive coverage whether its’ a week or 10 days,” said Ingram.

There are actually two different versions of this overhaul plan. One bill, the state would pay two or more managed-care companies fixed amount per recipient to provide Medicaid benefits to the developmentally disabled and mentally ill.

The other bill would direct state officials to hire companies to help reduce the cost of coverage for those populations, but with the state still paying health care providers directly, under a “managed fee for service” approach.

As we’ve mentioned several times, some of the governor’s proposed changes that will impact most of the more the nearly 270,000 Arkansans enrolled in the program include, charging premiums of about $19 a month to enrollees whose incomes are above the poverty level, subsidizing some enrollees’ coverage through employer plans and referring unemployed enrollees to job-training programs.

Hutchinson had hoped that the Obama administration would have supported the idea of requiring able-bodied individuals taking advantage of this free medical care to find gainful employment. Instead, Hutchinson has opted for the requirement that applicants capable of working at least enroll in some type of certified job-training program.

Oh, there is also the requirement that these Medicaid recipients take an annual wellness exam and be required to pay their premiums to qualify for the “incentive benefits,” which could include dental and other benefits.

As we’ve pointed out before, this is all come about in preparation for next year when the federal share will decrease from 100 percent to 95 percent. It will then fall each year until it reaches 90 percent in 2020.

The governor’s proposed plan is specifically designed to save enough tax dollars to make up for the additional cost to the state when the federal funds are reduced.

While it is understood that there are several details that have yet to be spelled out, it is important to note that if the governor’s plan doesn’t get the necessary support from lawmakers, the consequences will be costly.