Beebe: Don’t delay Medicaid vote until next year

— Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe says he’s opposed to delaying a vote on expanding Medicaid’s eligibility until next year’s session, but says he won’t rush lawmakers on when to consider the issue.

Beebe told reporters Monday that he wants lawmakers to vote on the Medicaid expansion during this year’s session rather than wait until next year. The House and Senate convene next year for a session focused primarily on the state’s budget, and some legislators have suggested the expansion vote can wait until then.

Beebe is a Democrat who supports expansion, but has faced resistance from the Republican-led House and Senate. He told the Arkansas County Judges Association that he faces an uphill fight in getting the three-fourths vote needed for expansion to pass.

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