Arkansas governor wants to lower Medicaid eligibility, says plan can serve as national model

Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson is seeking to lower eligibility for Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to 100 percent of the federal poverty line—it is currently 138 percent—which would move about 60,000 Arkansas residents, many of them rural, to the subsidized insurance marketplace, Maggie McNeary reports for Arkansas Online. In Arkansas, which was one of the few southern states that expanded Medicaid, more than 300,000 people are on the program.

Hutchinson "said this new cap would ensure that the people affected would retain their coverage, save money for the state and encourage personal responsibility," McNeary writes. He "said he believes the change brought about by the waivers is the same direction national health care will take" and that Arkansas can serve as a model for other states and the federal government. Hutchinson also wants to add a work requirement.

A study published in January in The Journal of Rural Health found that Medicaid expansion greatly increased access to health care for Americans, especially in rural areas. (Kaiser Family Foundation map: Medicaid expansion states)