Over the weekend, draft language for a bill to strengthen Medicaid through Arkansas’s health insurance exchange showed up on social media. While this language will almost certainly be amended in a variety of ways over the coming weeks, we are comparing it to our Principles for this “private option” for Medicaid coverage. Of note to child advocates, it does open the door for moving some children who have ARKids First to new, private coverage in the health insurance exchange. We don’t think this is a good idea, at least not immediately.

Read the draft bill here. Check out our Ten Principles here. More to come on Medicaid in coming days…..

Meanwhile, Jackson-Hewitt Tax Service released a great study on the repercussions of states failing to strengthen coverage for low-income workers. In short, states that do not strengthen Medicaid coverage for low-income workers leave local employers exposed to higher tax penalties, or “shared responsibility payments” under the Affordable Care Act. In Arkansas, the tax impact on businesses would range from $26 million to $38 million annually. The penalties are assessed when a low-income worker in a company with 50 or more employees seeks affordable coverage and accesses “advance premium tax credits” to help pay for coverage in the health insurance exchange. If Arkansas does offer coverage to low-income workers that’s funded by Medicaid, businesses would be exempt from paying the additional taxes. This sounds like a good deal to us: more affordable coverage for all, and a competitive advantage for Arkansas businesses.