A House panel has advanced a bill fulfilling Gov. Asa Hutchinson's plan for a task force to consider the future of Medicaid after the private option.
Hutchinson last month called for the state's private-option Medicaid expansion to be continued through the end of next year while a legislative task force tackles changes to the state's health care system.
The House Committee of Public, Health, Welfare and Labor on Tuesday on a voice vote passed the bill creating the task force, sending it to the full House to be considered.
Rep. Kelley Linck, R-Flippin, and Rep. Joe Farrer, R-Austin, presented the bill and joined Department of Human Services Director John Selig for about an hour before the vote, taking questions from committee members about the makeup of the task force, its powers and whether the state can cap the number of people on the private option before it ends next year.
On the latter, Selig said the federal government has made it clear Arkansas cannot cap enrollees, though he expected the number of people on the program would not exceed 250,000.
Linck said the task force — which would include 16 legislators and would have power only to make a recommendation — will ultimately have three general plans to work from: do nothing and let Medicaid expansion in Arkansas end after next year, continue Medicaid expansion, or come up with a hybrid version of expansion that incorporates other ideas, such as the possibility of using federal block grants.
He said he believes the hybrid version is the most likely result and is hopeful the task force comes up with "innovative ideas."
"None of the other 49 states have solved this problem yet," he said. "I'm hoping this task force can be the group that finally does."
In his presentation, Farrer noted the bill does call for the task force to make a recommendation by the end of this year and it does formally end the private option at the end of 2016.
"Everybody's not going to be happy with this bill because it is a compromise bill," he told the panel.
The Senate has already approved the task force bill and a separate bill that funds the private option for the next fiscal year. Linck said he anticipates the full House considering Thursday the task force bill and another to reauthorize private option funding for another year.
Read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.