Download this handout: Health Care

Coverage for All Children

Health coverage is essential to a child’s ability to be successful in life. For the past two years, and following the national trend, Arkansas has seen its uninsured rate for children increase. This increase comes after years of being a leader in children’s health coverage after the implementation of the ARKids First program. ARKids First is funded by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and provides health insurance coverage for more than 70,000 children across Arkansas. Maintaining ARKids First and insuring more of Arkansas’s children can help provide all the state’s families with the affordable coverage that they need for the care of their children.

Coverage for Adults

Thanks to Arkansas Works, the state’s Medicaid expansion program, almost 250,000 adults in Arkansas have access to affordable health insurance coverage. This includes some non-elderly adults with disabilities. Like traditional Medicaid, Arkansas Works coverage allows families more financial flexibility and economic security, since many of these individuals would be unable to access needed care in their own communities without the program. Many doctors and hospitals in Arkansas are helped by Medicaid expansion, as it lowers the number of uninsured patients who are seen but are unable to pay for the services that they receive.

What to Ask Candidates

• How will you protect health coverage for children?
• What is your position on providing affordable coverage to adults who are low-income earners?
• How will you ensure that all of Arkansas’s children and families have access to high-quality, yet affordable, health care?
• What will you do to improve the health of Arkansas’s children and families?

Download this handout: Health Care