The Trump administration issued guidance to states on Thursday regarding the terms of adding work requirements for Medicaid coverage and Arkansas’s governor is ready to take advantage of the policy shift. Medicaid is a health insurance program for low-income people administered by states but primarily funded by the federal government. Eligibility is largely determined by income levels, which were expanded under the Affordable Care Act. But some conservatives such as Governor Asa Hutchinson have sought to make state-level eligibility dependent on other factors too – like employment, workforce training, or community service.
While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has now issued guidance on the issue, Arkansas's outstanding waiver request has still not been addressed. In 2017, the state requested several proposed changes to its version of Medicaid expansion via a waiver. The governor is optimistic some of those proposals will get the official go-ahead in the near future, following Thursday's CMS guidance.
Check out the audio link above and take a listen to the governor's thoughts on Medicaid changes and what's in store for Arkansas.
