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Based on stakeholder interviews and early data on coverage, reduced uncompensated care costs, and other topics, this issue brief provides an initial look at implementation of Arkansas' Section 1115 Medicaid expansion demonstration waiver to require most adults newly eligible for Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion to enroll in Marketplace plans.
While former President Trump has stated that overturning Roe v. Wade turned the decision of abortion back to states and “the people are now deciding,” it is a complicated political and legal road
This issue brief describes the Medicaid non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) benefit, how states administer it, and the reasons that beneficiaries frequently use NEMT. It also explores current policy issues related to NEMT in the context of alternative Medicaid expansion waivers.
This brief examines the experiences of low-income adults in three states that have made varied Medicaid expansion decisions: Ohio, which adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion, Arkansas which implemented the Medicaid expansion through a “Private Option” waiver, and Missouri, which has not adopted the expansion. While Arkansas and Ohio implemented the expansion in different ways, participants in both states described how obtaining coverage improved their ability to access care, contributing to improvements in their ability to…
A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Arkansas’ “private option” Medicaid expansion has helped reduce the number of uninsured and bring down uncompensated care costs while strengthening the state’s ACA marketplace. A Look at the Private Option in Arkansas draws upon early data as well as interviews conducted in spring 2015 with state officials, providers, insurance carriers, and consumer advocates to provide an initial look how implementation of the private option…
Final update made on October 29, 2013 (no further updates will be made) Establishing the Marketplace On December 12, 2012, Governor Mike Beebe (D) informed federal officials that Arkansas would pursue a state-federal partnership health insurance Marketplace (also referred to as exchange).1 A state opting for a partnership Marketplace can choose to operate plan management functions, consumer assistance functions, or both. A state can also elect to perform Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)…
This issue brief analyzes the impact of the four measures intended to safeguard coverage for people with disabilities and others who should not have been subject to the work and reporting requirements. It draws on data newly available from Arkansas’ 2018 annual waiver report to CMS and monthly data released by the state while the requirements were in effect. The data reveal that few people used these safeguard measures relative to the number of people…
Arkansas is one of seven states for which CMS has approved a Section 1115 waiver to condition Medicaid eligibility on meeting work and reporting requirements and the first state to implement this type of waiver. The new requirements were phased in for most enrollees ages 30-49 beginning in June 2018, and for individuals ages 19-29 starting in January 2019. Unless exempt, enrollees must engage in 80 hours of work or other qualifying activities each month…
This issue brief provides background about Medicaid premium assistance in the individual health insurance market, summarizes major components of Arkansas’ Section 1115 demonstration waiver application to implement the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion through premium assistance, and considers key issues affecting beneficiaries.
With the recent governors’ elections in Kentucky and Louisiana refocusing attention on state Medicaid expansion decisions, a newly updated issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation provides an overview of the waivers obtained by six states – Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, New Hampshire and Montana -- that are pursuing alternative Medicaid expansions under the Affordable Care Act.
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