Keeping low-income families in mind as debate moves forward Last week’s big Medicaid news in Arkansas has been making waves across the country. In short, Arkansas received word from Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius that the state has...
What about this “private option” for strengthening Medicaid? Last week, state officials sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services outlining a framework for Arkansas’s plan to extend health coverage to 250,000 uninsured, low-income Arkansans. However,...
The past year at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families has been one of expansion and innovation. Improved access to early childhood education has always been something that we’ve worked toward at AACF. This year we expanded our education...
The debate on extending Medicaid has changed Our goal at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families has always been to make sure quality, affordable health coverage is available to every Arkansan that needs it. For a lot of working Arkansans private...
New Kids Count report shows youth incarceration up 20 in Arkansas since 1997 The number of Arkansas youth locked up in correctional facilities went up 20 percent from 1997 to 2010, bucking a national trend, according to a report...
Medicaid Monday: What’s in it for kids? If you’re reading or watching the news lately, I’m sure you see daily news stories and discussions about Medicaid -both the Medicaid that serves low-income children, those with disabilities, and the elderly...
Medicaid recap Since it’s February – the month of love – we felt it was a good time to (re)proclaim our love for Medicaid. For more than 15 years, we have been sharing how Medicaid and ARKids First have...
Arkansas has an opportunity to strengthen its Medicaid program and stimulate economic activity statewide by extending coverage to an estimated 250,000 uninsured Arkansans, including 10,000 children. Arkansas can cover parents and other adults with incomes up to 138 percent...
Drug Testing for Unemployment Insurance: Unnecessary, Not Helpful, and Possibly Unconstitutional Senator Jeremy Hutchinson has filed SB38, which proposes drug-testing individuals who are unemployed as a condition of receiving benefits. This bill requires workers who have already been through...
Copays affect Medicaid recipients, providers Cost-sharing and copayments reduce access to health care for low-income families who already struggle to make ends meet. In the debate to extend Medicaid to 250,000 adults, the idea of using some form of...