Model Arkansas Way of Expanding Medicaid at Risk

Arkansas’ plan for expanding Medicaid by buying private insurance policies for the poor instead of adding them to the rolls was heralded as a model for convincing more Republican-leaning states to adopt a key part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

But now, as Republican lawmakers face election season and step up attacks on what they deride as Obamacare, the state that pioneered the private option is on the brink of abandoning it. The plan has lost two supporters in the Senate, leaving backers worried that they won’t have enough votes to keep it alive after the Legislature convenes Monday.

Rejecting the program could jeopardize the state’s budget and reverberate through other states considering similar options for expanding Medicaid as the federal government wants.

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Source: The Washington Post