BENTONVILLE -- Lawmakers on both sides of the private option dispute are unwilling to disrupt Medicaid over the issue, Rep. Les "Skip" Carnine and others said at a legislative forum Saturday morning.
The House has failed to pass a Medicaid budget in four tries so far because of concerns over private option, which is a part of that budget. This has led to concerned calls from constituents and speculation of a budget showdown, lawmakers said at the Saturday morning forum, hosted by the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce. The forum was at NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville.
Stoking such concerns to pressure lawmakers to approve the plan doesn't help resolve the questions facing the private option health care expansion, the lawmakers said at a forum said. At the same time, reluctance to risk disruption of Medicaid doesn't mean the private option as-is has enough votes to pass the House, they said.
"This is not the same bill that it was when I voted for it last time," when the private option expansion passed and he voted for it in April, Carnine said. He cited an estimated 35 major changes in the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act, which allows the program, since that time. "We didn't change it, the feds did," he said.
"This debate needs to go on, and it doesn't need to be personal," Carnine said. He has health care-related issues about the program he and others want addressed, Carnine said after the forum. He will not discuss those changes while they are under negotiation, he said.
Three of the eight senators who voted against the health plan were at the forum, along with three of the 18 House members who voted against the bill in the latest attempt to pass the measure Friday. Private option takes about $900 million in federal money originally intended for Medicaid expansion and uses it to subsidize private insurance policies.
The appropriation for private option, like most state spending bills, requires a three-quarters vote in each chamber. The Senate has passed the budget. The House has failed to do so in four tries so far.
The Republican Party might suffer politically in the 2014 U.S. Senate and governor's races if a minority holds out to the point of a shutdown, said Jana Della Rosa, a Republican candidate for the District 90 House seat in Rogers. This seat is held by Carnine, who is ineligible to run for re-election because of term limits.
When a similar shutdown in Congress happened, "49 of 50 states blamed the Republicans," said Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs. "Guess what the one state was that blamed Democrats? Arkansas."
Many states in serious financial trouble have laws like Arkansas' that require balanced budgets, said Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Gravette. They find ways around them. The real difference between Arkansas an those other states, and the basis of the state's very sound finances, is the three-quarters requirement, he said. It's not something to be given away lightly, he said.
Calls from his district are seven-to-one in favor of his "no" vote so far, Carnine said. "I had somebody pull into my driveway when I was getting out of my car Friday, and he thanked me," he said.
"They're saying 'Stay the Course,' but I've told them that if we come up with a viable compromise, I will vote for it," Carnine said.
Rep. Deborah Hobbs, R-Rogers, would vote for a compromise allowing people already enrolled in the program to remain, she said. Hobbs has been a consistent opponent of the plan, voting against it last year. Rep. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, agreed at the forum. Hendren, Hester and Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, also supported such proposal, which they and others put forward last week.
Reps. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, Sue Scott, R-Rogers, and Duncan Baird, R-Lowell, said they supported the private option and would continue to support it.
None of the lawmakers at the forum support the Affordable Care Act, they agreed. But the federal law is something the states must contend with, they said.
Commentary on 02/23/2014