Lawmakers to get Medicaid-expansion update

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas lawmakers are meeting to discuss the progress of the state's compromise Medicaid expansion plan and enrollment in the insurance marketplaces set up under the federal health law.

The House and Senate Public Health committees were scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss the progress of the "private option" Medicaid expansion that lawmakers recently reauthorized for another year. Under the private option, the state is using federal Medicaid funds to purchase private insurance for the poor.

The program was approved last year as an alternative to the Medicaid expansion envisioned under the federal health overhaul. More than 155,000 people have applied and been approved for coverage under the program.

The panel also planned to discuss enrollment in the insurance exchange set up under the health law.

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