Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace ends on January 31. The end of open enrollment provides an opportunity for lawmakers and health stakeholders to celebrate the success Arkansas has had in covering the uninsured, but it also provides time to eliminate the challenges consumers still face when enrolling in affordable health coverage. The enrollment […]

#ARKidsNeed Download the Print Version Consistent health insurance coverage. Expanded access to health care. Moms who have quality prenatal care. Full immunization screenings. Proper dental care. Regular check-ups to catch health issues early. Mental health care from certified providers. Quality pre-K and early childhood education. Parents who teach early literacy by reading and talking. After […]

Download the PDF: What Would it Take to Be Number One 2015

Act 96 of 2015 created the Health Care Reform Legislative Task Force in Arkansas. This task force will determine the future of the Private Option and the Medicaid program. The following principles should guide policymakers as they consider ways to transform and modernize the health care system. Policy changes should meet the health needs of […]

While there were a few bright spots, it was a tough year for racial equity and opportunity at the legislature. Lawmakers passed policies that will limit opportunities for many Arkansas families. They also failed to pass policies that would have given more Arkansans a chance to thrive and succeed in the future. These policies affect […]

ARKids First has been hugely successful in providing health coverage for kids in Arkansas, despite growing child poverty rates. While the number of children living in poverty has increased to almost 30 percent since 2008, the percentage of children without health coverage has remained very low. This news comes as lawmakers meet to discuss possible […]

Early childhood professionals often use the terms early childhood mental health and positive social and emotional development interchangeably. Social development involves skills like communicating needs, getting along with others and making friends. Emotional development involves skills like being able to be soothed when upset, recognizing feelings and expressing them appropriately, and beginning to understand that others have feelings too. When children experience healthy social and […]

This legislative session, like many others before it, had its ups and downs. The children and families of Arkansas won some, but suffered some major losses as well. The Private Option, Arkansas’s version of Medicaid expansion, will continue to provide health coverage for low-income Arkansans, at least through 2016. However, changes are likely on the horizon. Our state’s […]

In 2013, one out of four Arkansans did not have health insurance. Thousands of low-income Arkansans made too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to receive financial help in the health insurance Marketplace (through tax subsidies). Arkansas faced a looming Medicaid budget shortfall, all while more than half a million Arkansans had no health coverage. […]

Because ARKids First is a vital link to health services for so many of our state’s children, we must very carefully consider any changes to coverage options. In Arkansas, 52 percent of children receive coverage through ARKids First (Arkansas’s Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP). CHIP can be tailored to meet the needs of the state and provides coverage […]