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Arkansas Governor Asks For New Limits On Medicaid Plan

Dylan Brandt speaks at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Little Rock, Ark., on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. Brandt, 15, has been receiving hormone treatments and is among several transgender youth who challenged a state law banning gender confirming care for trans minors.
Andrew DeMillo
/
AP
Dylan Brandt speaks at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Little Rock, Ark., on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. Brandt, 15, has been receiving hormone treatments and is among several transgender youth who challenged a state law banning gender confirming care for trans minors.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has told federal officials he wants to impose new limits on the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion that's providing coverage to more than 200,000 people. 

Hutchinson's office on Monday released his formal request to overhaul the state's "private option," which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for low-income residents. The program was crafted in 2013 as an alternative to expanding Medicaid under the federal health law.

Hutchinson's Dec. 29 letter to U.S. Health and Human Service Secretary Sylvia Burwell details several changes he's already proposed to the program, including requiring some to pay a premium and restrictions on assets.

Hutchinson's spokesman said the governor plans to meet with Burwell within the next month in Washington to discuss the proposed changes.

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