A state legislator said Friday that he is concerned the agency that operates a health insurance exchange for small businesses didn't consult with lawmakers before awarding bonuses to its director and other employees.
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During a meeting last week, the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace Board of Directors gave a $10,200 bonus to the director, Cheryl Gardner, after concluding she had met or exceeded her performance goals, Chairman Mike Castleberry said Friday.
Most of the marketplace's 14 other employees also received bonuses of up to 6 percent of their annual salaries, he said.
Sen. David Sanders, chairman of a legislative committee that monitors the marketplace, said the marketplace should have briefed legislators on the evaluation criteria before awarding the bonuses.
He said he planned to ask about the matter at a meeting of the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace Legislative Oversight Committee later this month. The date of the meeting hadn't been set as of Friday.
"Certainly hindsight is 20/20, but I think that probably should have been shared at some point," Sanders, R-Little Rock, said. "We'll get to it very soon."
Sanders said he wasn't "chastising" the board. He said having the information would have been helpful to committee members in understanding why the bonuses were awarded and in answering questions from the public and other lawmakers.
Castleberry said he would look into why the oversight committee hadn't been briefed on the bonuses.
Created by the state Legislature in 2013, the marketplace board in late 2014 was awarded a $99.9 million federal grant to set up health insurance exchanges for small-business employees and individual consumers.
The small-business exchange opened for enrollment Nov. 1.
Plans for the exchange for individual consumers have been put on hold at the request of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who said he doesn't see the need for it.
Hutchinson has said the small-business exchange could play a role in providing subsidized coverage to Medicaid-eligible adults under a program that would be known as Arkansas Works.
The Legislature passed a law to implement Arkansas Works during a special session earlier this month.
A bill that would provide the funding for the program failed to receive a three-fourths majority, which is required for appropriation bills, in the Senate during the fiscal session Thursday.
The Legislature is expected to take up the matter again next week.
Gardner said last month that the marketplace would award bonuses to employees based on their performance in six areas, with each area determining an equal portion of the bonus amount.
The board approved Gardner's bonus using the same criteria, Castleberry said.
He said Gardner, who started work in May 2014, has done a "heck of a job" in building a new agency, hiring staff members, working with other state agencies and setting up the small-business exchange in time for enrollment to begin as scheduled .
"There's no template" for how to do the job, Castleberry said.
Sanders also praised Gardner's performance.
"There were a number of other states that have had a real poor experience in all steps of the process, and we haven't had that here," he said.
A part of the federal Small Business Health Options Program, the Arkansas exchange is open to businesses with up to 50 employees.
Those with fewer than 25 employees and that pay average wages of less than $50,000 can qualify for a tax credit of up to half their premium expenses for two years.
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield spokesman Max Greenwood said Friday that 44 businesses offer coverage through the exchange. The plans cover 171 employees and 66 spouses or dependents, she said.
An additional 11 Arkansas businesses offer coverage for 49 employees and 36 spouses or dependents through a similar federally run exchange, she said.
Enrollment in the federal exchange stopped after sign-ups through the state exchange started.
The bonuses to Gardner and other employees come on top of performance-based salary increases of up to 6 percent that were awarded last year, effective July 1, to six employees.
Gardner received a $5,000 raise in September, bringing her annual salary to $170,000.
Metro on 04/16/2016