WASHINGTON -- Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson had meetings Thursday afternoon on both sides of Capitol Hill. First, he discussed the future of Medicaid with members of the Senate Finance Committee. Later, he spoke about the same topic with members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Several other Republican governors, including John Kasich of Ohio, Butch Otter of Idaho and Terry Branstad of Iowa, were also on hand.
Neither round-table meeting was open to the public.
With Congress and the new president promising to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the governors wanted to know how those changes will affect federal funding.
Hutchinson said lawmakers paid close attention while the governors were "giving the states' perspective" on transitioning away from Obamacare.
"They took notes and they talked about the process that they have to go through, so it was a very good exchange," he said. "There was a unity of opinion that we have to have more flexibility for the states" in how they run their programs.