Arkansas House representatives voted down Gov. Mike Beebe's proposal to increase eligibility for Medicaid and use the resulting new federal dollars to subsidize private insurance for beneficiaries, according to a report by the Washington Post.
Just six votes shy of House approval, the measure was conceptually approved by HHS and had caught the intention of once-skeptical governors who were warmer to the idea of a private expansion on Medicaid rather than increasing states' liability with more low-income people to insure.
Gov. Beebe said if the state Senate does not pass the bill today, he will let the bill die without calling a special session. As a consequence, he also told reporters he could not approve any tax cuts in the current legislative sessions unless the so-called "private option" passes, according to the report.
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Ohio, Indiana Reject Medicaid Expansion Bills
Just six votes shy of House approval, the measure was conceptually approved by HHS and had caught the intention of once-skeptical governors who were warmer to the idea of a private expansion on Medicaid rather than increasing states' liability with more low-income people to insure.
Gov. Beebe said if the state Senate does not pass the bill today, he will let the bill die without calling a special session. As a consequence, he also told reporters he could not approve any tax cuts in the current legislative sessions unless the so-called "private option" passes, according to the report.
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Ohio, Indiana Reject Medicaid Expansion Bills