Proposal filed to end Arkansas' compromise Medicaid plan

A group of Republican lawmakers wants to terminate Arkansas' compromise Medicaid expansion by the end of the year, despite Gov. Asa Hutchinson wanting to continue the program through 2016.

Sen. Linda Collins-Smith, R-Pocahontas, and six other GOP senators co-sponsored legislation filed Monday that would end the state's "private option" on Dec. 31. Under the private option, Arkansas uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for low-income residents.

Hutchinson, a Republican, last week called on lawmakers to continue the program through the end of next year while a proposed task force looks at the future of the state's Medicaid system.

The private option has sharply divided Republicans, who control the Legislature. Collins-Smith is among several lawmakers who were elected last year on a vow to end the program.

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