Gillam aims to avoid private-option fight

Arkansas House Speaker-designate Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, far left, speaks at a meeting of the Political Animals Club in Little Rock, Ark., as, from left, Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, club president Rex Nelson, Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, and Sen. David Sanders, R-Little Rock listen Friday, March 21, 2014. The panel discussed recent reauthorization of the state's "private option" during this year's legislative session. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)
Arkansas House Speaker-designate Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, far left, speaks at a meeting of the Political Animals Club in Little Rock, Ark., as, from left, Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, club president Rex Nelson, Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, and Sen. David Sanders, R-Little Rock listen Friday, March 21, 2014. The panel discussed recent reauthorization of the state's "private option" during this year's legislative session. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

House Speaker-designate Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, said Friday that he’s hoping for less “drama” in the House of Representatives in the 2015 regular session than in the past two sessions about authorizing the use of federal Medicaid funds to purchase private health insurance for low-income Arkansans.

Gillam, a farmer, said he wants to make sure that representatives, “especially those who still have significant reservations, are involved” and apprised about what’s working with the program and what’s not working, so they can consider possible changes in the program between now and the start of the regular session in January.

“It is my hope that as we move into the next session that we all have a consensus as we start the session and we don’t have some of the drama again,” he told about 160 people attending a Political Animals Club luncheon in Little Rock.

Gillam was one of four lawmakers on a panel focusing on the Legislature’s most contentious issue.

Afterward, Gillam, who during the past two legislative sessions voted to fund the private option, said he doesn’t currently see a scenario in which he would push as House speaker to eliminate the program because the evidence shows it’s progressing according to plan.

“But there [are] a lot of months at play here,” said Gillam. He defeated two other Republicans and a Democrat on Wednesday to become House speaker-designate, putting him in line to be the House speaker in 2015 and 2016.

House Democratic leader Greg Leding of Fayetteville told the Political Animals Club that the future of the private option “will be shaped by what we see happen in [the Nov. 4 general election] and the conversations that we have between now and then as we continue to advance and develop this program.”

He said he hopes the program will be successful between now and January, “so it will be that much more difficult for us to pull the plug.”

More than half of the people enrolled are under age 40, and other states are considering Arkansas’ program as a model as thousands of Arkansans are still signing up, he said.

“It is important to keep in mind that the goal is to keep these quarter-of-a-million working Arkansans insured. But I do anticipate a challenge,” Leding said. While it is supported by all Democratic lawmakers, the private option has deeply divided Republicans in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The expansion of the Medicaid program, approved by the Legislature last year, extends coverage to adults with incomes of up to 138 percent of the poverty level - $16,105 for an individual or $32,913 for a family of four.

An estimated 250,000 Arkansans are eligible for coverage. Enrollment began Oct. 1.

The number of Arkansans approved for coverage rose to 144,358 as of March 15, state Department of Human Services spokesman Kate Luck said this week.

Of the total approved for coverage so far, 104,649 had enrolled in Medicaid-funded private health insurance, she said.

The ranks of the approved also include 14,338 people who were assigned to the traditional fee-for-service Medicaid program because they were determined to have exceptional health needs. Thousands of others who were approved for coverage as of March 15 had not completed enrollment.

Funding for the private option was made possible by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, which some refer to as Obamacare.

Legislators spent most of the fiscal session that began Feb. 10 and adjourned Wednesday haggling over whether to reauthorize funding for the private option. Private-option backers needed a three-fourths supermajority in both chambers to advance the measure.

The 35-member Senate approved the private-option extension in a single vote, with 27 senators voting for it. But it took five votes in the 100-member House before the private-option measure passed with 76 representatives favoring it.

Passage of the measure means Arkansas can accept$915 million in federal funds for the private option in fiscal 2015, which begins July 1.

Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, told the Political Animals Club that she received “a lot of push-back” and critical letters when she declared that the private option was at best on life support. That came after the resignation of a private-option supporter in the Senate and the election of a private-option foe to replace him, and an announcement by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, that she’d vote against funding the program this year, after supporting it last year.

But Chesterfield said she’s “very proud” that Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, changed her mind and decided to vote to fund the program this year after voting against the funding last year. English agreed to vote for the funding in return for Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe agreeing to restructure and boost funding for the state’s workforce training programs.

“We must constantly be vigilant in order to make sure that we protect what we have,” Chesterfield said.

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 03/22/2014

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