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Study: Private Option helping working Arkansans

Results of a study about Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion, the private option, show that the plan is helping working people.  A study released yesterday by the advocacy group Families USA found that almost 60 percent of those on the private option are low-income workers.  One of the directors of FamiliesUSA Dee Mahan tells what Medicaid expansion means to those recipients.

“It means a healthier and more productive workforce, and that is good for the business where these residents work,” according to Mahan.   “Before the private option, most of these folks were not eligible for the state’s Medicaid option, and did not have any options for affordable health insurance.  Through the private option, the state has helped these citizens get health coverage, which creates a healthier workforce.”

According to the study, about 18-percent of beneficiaries are either unemployed, going back to school, have a disability, or serve as caregivers in the home.  People who benefit from Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion, the private option, are in the workforce, are in school, are caring for someone in the home, or have a disability.  Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Director Rich Huddleston says it is important to keep the private option in Arkansas to help those people who would otherwise have to go without coverage.

“By expanding coverage, we are ensuring a strong, healthy workforce in the state.  We are supporting our friends and neighbors who work in industries that are critical to the state, such as health care, food service, construction, and many more industries.”

18-percent of recipients are unemployed.  The private option also has the support of the Arkansas Hospital Association.  See the full report here

Johnathan Reaves is the News Director for KASU Public Radio. As part of an Air Force Family, he moved to Arkansas from Minot, North Dakota in 1986. He was first bitten by the radio bug after he graduated from Gosnell High School in 1992. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked at KOSE, a small 1,000 watt AM commercial station in Osceola, Arkansas. Upon graduation from Arkansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Radio-Television Broadcast News, he decided that he wanted to stay in radio news. He moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas and worked for East Arkansas Broadcasters as news director and was there for 16 years.