LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’ insurance commissioner says the state is well-positioned to implement the federal health care overhaul if it’s upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
If the law is overturned, Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford said the state doesn’t have a plan for helping its 539,000 uninsured residents. He said it would be up to Congress to come up with a solution.
If the law passes, Arkansas plans to work with the federal government to create an online health insurance marketplace. Arkansas lawmakers in 2011 blocked a bill that would have enabled the state to create its own exchange. But Arkansas has since decided on a state-federal partnership that will give it at least some role in the exchange.