Arkansas House Votes To Kick 96,000 Poor People Off Their Health Plans

Sunday, March 16, 2014 SPORK! 0 Comments

BY SY MUKHERJEE ON FEBRUARY 18, 2014

On Tuesday, the Arkansas House of Representatives voted not to fund a continuation of the state’s alternative to the Affordable Care Act’s optional Medicaid expansion, effectively stripping as many as 96,000 of the state’s poorest residents of their current health coverage. The state Senate is expected to take up the measure on Wednesday and the House will likely re-visit the issue later this week, when supporters expect it to gain final passage.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe (D) worked out a compromise with the Republican-controlled legislature last year to pass an alternative to Medicaid expansion that uses federal money to help people earning up to 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) buy private insurance through the state’s Obamacare marketplace. Nearly 100,000 people have signed up for the popular program so far, and about a quarter million are eligible for coverage, according to official estimates.

Read the full article at Think Progress

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