Arkansas awarded $42 million grant for Medicaid overhaul

Arkansas has been awarded a $42 million grant from the federal government for the state's initiative to change the way Medicaid pays for services.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the grant to Arkansas on Thursday. Arkansas is one of six states that received grants to rein in rising health care costs.

Arkansas has been rolling out a program that changes the way Medicaid pays for services from a fee-for-service model to one where it pays for "episodes" of care. The changes are aimed at curbing the growth of Medicaid's costs. Private insurers have also joined the initiative.

DHS officials said the grant shows that the federal government believes in what the state is doing and that it could be a model for other states.

Read more in Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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