5 P.M. UPDATE:
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he's asking the federal government for permission to stop covering emergency contraceptives for Medicaid patients.
The Republican governor said in a letter dated Tuesday that he's asking U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell the process Arkansas can use to waive the requirement that it cover Plan B for those on the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion. Hutchinson said he'll also pursue a waiver to stop covering such drugs for the traditional Medicaid program.
Hutchinson sent the letter to Republican Sen. Jason Rapert, who raised concerns about the hybrid expansion covering such drugs. State officials have said they're required by the federal government to cover the emergency contraceptives for the program, which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for the poor.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
— The Associated Press
3:25 P.M. UPDATE:
A plan to save Arkansas' hybrid Medicaid expansion is advancing to the state Senate for a vote after Democrats dropped their opposition to an unusual tactic requiring them to initially vote against the subsidized health coverage.
The Joint Budget Committee on Tuesday endorsed the Medicaid budget bill, which includes a provision ending the hybrid expansion on Dec. 31. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said he'll veto that provision, which would allow lawmakers to effectively fund the program by upholding his decision with a simple majority vote.
The plan is aimed at working around a group of Republicans who have blocked the Medicaid budget bill in the Senate. At least three of the 10 GOP senators blocking the budget have said they'll vote for the budget with the defunding provision, despite Hutchinson's vow to reinstate the program.
The Senate is expected to vote on the budget bill Wednesday.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
— The Associated Press
12:20 P.M. UPDATE:
The lobbying group for Arkansas' farmers is urging lawmakers to keep the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion alive.
The Arkansas Farm Bureau said Tuesday it was endorsing Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson's revised version of the program, which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for the poor. The group urged lawmakers to approve a Medicaid budget with funding for the program, which covers more than 250,000 people.
The group cited concerns about the effect ending the program would have on other state services because of funding cuts. The organization represents 190,000 families around the state.
—The Associated Press
11:30 A.M. UPDATE:
Legislative leaders are tweaking their plan aimed at allowing Gov. Asa Hutchinson to reinstate Arkansas' hybrid Medicaid expansion if it's defunded.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Jim Hendren proposed adding a provision to the Medicaid budget that would end the hybrid program Dec. 31. The Republican lawmaker says Hutchinson could veto that provision, effectively funding the hybrid expansion if the governor's veto is upheld by a majority of the Legislature.
A joint legislative committee could take up the proposal as early as Tuesday afternoon. Hendren said the change is being made to address legal concerns about the line-item veto approach.
The plan is aimed at working around the constitutional requirement that three-fourths of the Legislature approve most budget bills. Hutchinson has said three of the 10 Senate Republicans holding up the Medicaid budget bill will vote for the measure with a defunding provision, even though he's promised to reinstate the funding.
—The Associated Press
EARLIER:
Two state lawmakers opposed to Arkansas' private-option Medicaid expansion pitched a plan Tuesday to roll back expanded coverage and promised a lawsuit if Gov. Asa Hutchinson uses a line-item veto as part of an expected workaround to approve the program's funding.
Under the plan released by Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lionsdale, and Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville, Medicaid recipients earning more than 100 percent of the poverty level would be dropped from the state's Medicaid rolls and could seek insurance from the federal health care exchange set up by the Affordable Care Act.
Arkansas' Medicaid expansion uses federal funding to purchase private insurance for recipients earning between 100 and 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
Clark and Ballinger said their plan was a "compromise" and that they would be willing to debate aspects of their eight-part proposal, which also calls for Arkansas to stop using "Obamacare" funding if the state's costs rise above $200 million a year.
The lawmakers said they would not negotiate on a part of the proposal that stops the funding of abortions and the "Plan B" pill through the Medicaid program.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported that Hutchinson said he had the three additional Senate votes needed on a plan to fund Arkansas Works by first passing an appropriation bill in the Legislature blocking money to pay for the program. The governor would then use a line-item veto to restore funding.
Ballinger said Tuesday that plan is unconstitutional because it undermines the legislative requirement for a three-quarter majority to pass appropriations bills. A simple majority is needed to override a governor's veto.
Ballinger said he likely wouldn't be the one to challenge the governor's use of a veto in court, but he promised there would be one.
Hutchinson spokesman J.R. Davis called the legislators' Medicaid plan "scare tactics" and said he was confident the governor could defeat a legal challenge to his use of the line-item veto, which is included in the state Constitution.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more details.
— John Moritz