A study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine found that Arkansas’s Medicaid work requirement led to lower insurance rates among 30- to 49-year-olds in 2018, the group targeted by the first-of-its-kind work rule last year. The researchers also concluded that the policy did not lead to a rise in employment among this target population.
The House Education committee on Thursday defeated a bill that would have created a $3 million statewide voucher program funded with income tax credits. Its sponsor, Rep. Ken Bragg (R-Sheridan), said after the meeting he would not try for a second vote on Senate Bill 539.
The state Senate on Wednesday narrowly passed a bill that would allow certain immigrants residing in Arkansas to attend public colleges and universities at the same cost as other in-state students.
The Arkansas House of Representatives narrowly approved a bill to fund the state's Medicaid program on Tuesday, completing legislative action on the appropriation and handing a victory to Governor Hutchinson.
Two days after a federal judge halted Arkansas's first-in-the-nation work requirement for certain Medicaid beneficiaries, the state House of Representatives rejected the entire Medicaid budget by a large margin on Friday.
On Thursday, the Arkansas Senate passed a bill that would create a $3 million voucher-like program allowing K-12 students to receive scholarships for use at private schools. Senate Bill 539 was approved by a vote of 21-10, with two senators voting "present" — the equivalent of a "no" — and two not voting. It now heads to a House committee.
Governor Hutchinson said Thursday he has urged Trump administration officials to appeal a federal judge's order blocking Arkansas's first-in-the-nation Medicaid work requirement.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg on Wednesday halted Arkansas's experimental work requirement for certain Medicaid expansion beneficiaries, the only program of its kind in the country. The judge also blocked Kentucky's plans to implement a similar program.
Governor Hutchinson on Monday voiced enthusiastic support for legislation to create a school voucher pilot program in Pulaski County, calling it "the right model" for Arkansas.
State procurement officials said Thursday that a company recently awarded a $15.8 million contract to operate Arkansas's youth lockup facilities is ineligible under the terms of the state's RFP.
A House committee on Monday afternoon narrowly rejected a bill intended to establish rights for Arkansas renters — even after its sponsor, Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R-Paragould), amended the bill to address critics' objections. It could return for another vote later this week or next week.
A federal judge in the District of Columbia heard oral arguments Thursday morning in a lawsuit challenging Arkansas's work requirement for certain Medicaid expansion beneficiaries. Immediately afterward, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg heard arguments in a related suit over Kentucky's efforts to implement a similar policy.
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