#privateoption

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The Arkansas Project was launched in 2008 as a source for incisive commentary and reporting on Arkansas government, politics, media and more. In 2011, The Arkansas Project became an affiliate of the Advance Arkansas Institute. The Arkansas Project supplied daily commentary until 2019, but is now largely inactive.

David Kinkade was the chief writer and the editor of The Arkansas Project until 2011. After the site became affiliated with the Advance Arkansas Institute, Dan Greenberg was editor of The Arkansas Project until it became inactive in 2019. During that eight-year period, the writers for the site included Nic Horton, Marc Kilmer, and Caleb Taylor.

Learning from Arizona’s Medicaid Expansion

Aug 21, 20182 min read

Learning from Arizona’s Medicaid Expansion

Whether it was called the “Private Option” or “Arkansas Works,” TAP has always pointed out the problems that would come with expanding...

No, Arkansas Isn’t “The Model” For America On Healthcare

Aug 1, 20174 min read

No, Arkansas Isn’t “The Model” For America On Healthcare

Should America emulate Arkansas’s expansion of Medicaid through Obamacare? That’s what State Rep. Michael John Gray, the chairman of the...

Arkansas Health Insurers Ask State For Another Round Of Rate Hikes

Jul 26, 20172 min read

Arkansas Health Insurers Ask State For Another Round Of Rate Hikes

Arkansas health insurance companies selling Obamacare plans are asking for rate increases as high as 22 percent in 2018. According to the...

Here’s Gov. Hutchinson’s “Big Problem” With The Senate Healthcare Bill

Jun 29, 20173 min read

Here’s Gov. Hutchinson’s “Big Problem” With The Senate Healthcare Bill

Arkansas has a “big problem” on the horizon if the Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act becomes law, according to Gov. Asa Hutchinson....

Report: Premiums Up 128 Percent Since ‘13

May 26, 20171 min read

Report: Premiums Up 128 Percent Since ‘13

Health insurance premiums in Arkansas have increased by 128 percent since 2013, according to a report released this week by the...

DHS: Few Enrollees Working After Work Referral

May 24, 20172 min read

DHS: Few Enrollees Working After Work Referral

A small number of enrollees in the Arkansas Works / Medicaid expansion program attempted to find employment after receiving a work...

Report: Arkansas 36% Over 2014 PO Enrollment Projections

Apr 21, 20152 min read

2015 General Assembly

Report: Arkansas 36% Over 2014 PO Enrollment Projections

One of the consistent problems with big, new government entitlements is that politicians and bureaucrats usually understate or...

Forbes: Why Isn’t Arkansas Checking PO Enrollees’ Eligibility?

Apr 16, 20152 min read

Forbes: Why Isn’t Arkansas Checking PO Enrollees’ Eligibility?

When you begin a huge new entitlement like Arkansas’s “private option” Medicaid expansion program, it’s always a good idea to check if...

The “Private Option” Is Ending! DHS Says So!

Mar 25, 20152 min read

The “Private Option” Is Ending! DHS Says So!

It’s not been a great legislative session for conservatives opposed to the “private option” Medicaid expansion program, but a bill by...

A Magic Obamacare Waiver?

Mar 15, 20153 min read

A Magic Obamacare Waiver?

What would you think about a federal waiver that would get rid of many Obamacare state mandates in return for giving that state the...

Westerman: Give States Flexibility On Workforce Requirements

Feb 19, 20152 min read

Westerman: Give States Flexibility On Workforce Requirements

Freshman U.S. Rep Bruce Westerman introduced a bill last week that would give state legislators across the country much-needed...

Plenty For Conservatives To Like About Hutchinson’s Inaugural Address

Jan 14, 20152 min read

Economic Freedom

Plenty For Conservatives To Like About Hutchinson’s Inaugural Address

There was a lot for conservatives to like about Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s inaugural address on Tuesday. From Arkansas Online’s transcript of...

Arkansas 21st in Reliance on Federal Aid

Jan 11, 20152 min read

Arkansas 21st in Reliance on Federal Aid

Arkansas has a slightly below-average reliance on federal aid, according to a recent study by the Tax Foundation. From the Tax...

Over 80,000 on “Private Option” Don’t Work

Jan 6, 20152 min read

Over 80,000 on “Private Option” Don’t Work

One of the many misleading talking points promoted by pro-”private option” advocates is that the program isn’t an entitlement — and that...

I’m Dreaming Of A Conservative Chamber Of Commerce

Dec 22, 20142 min read

Arkansas Politics

I’m Dreaming Of A Conservative Chamber Of Commerce

The 2014 mid-term results really did change something: they forced the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce into acting conservative! From...

If the Feds Like Their Exchange, They Can Keep It

Dec 12, 20143 min read

If the Feds Like Their Exchange, They Can Keep It

In a classic Christmas film, a wise man once said that enrollment in the jelly of the month club was “ the gift that keeps on giving the...

Freshman Legislator: Freshman Legislators Aren’t Stupid, But Are Ignorant

Dec 5, 20143 min read

Freshman Legislator: Freshman Legislators Aren’t Stupid, But Are Ignorant

The Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families road-show to save the “private option” (Medicaid expansion) got off to a...

Another PO Broken Promise: Medicaid Expansion Not A Job Creator

Dec 1, 20142 min read

Another PO Broken Promise: Medicaid Expansion Not A Job Creator

One of the many dubious claims about the “private option” Medicaid expansion was that it would be a “job creator” for the health-care...

The ‘Credibility Issues’ Of Jonathan Gruber and David Sanders

Nov 26, 20144 min read

The ‘Credibility Issues’ Of Jonathan Gruber and David Sanders

“Private Option” Medicaid expansion architects have been busy obfuscating news that broke last week about Obamacare architect Jonathan...

POLL: Majority Support For PO Exit Strategy

Nov 21, 20142 min read

POLL: Majority Support For PO Exit Strategy

After a midterm election that brought a tidal wave of conservative Republicans into the Capitol, the conversation about Arkansas’s...

Liberals Freak Out Over GOP Victories In 2014

Nov 11, 20143 min read

Liberals Freak Out Over GOP Victories In 2014

What was the most overwrought liberal reaction to the 2014 Republican midterm victories in Arkansas? An article yesterday by Monica Potts...

PO State Budgeting Will Meet Harsh Reality in 2017

Nov 6, 20143 min read

PO State Budgeting Will Meet Harsh Reality in 2017

We wrote yesterday about the decreasing likelihood of funding for Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion in Arkansas (the private option) making...

McLean Desperately Attempting To Save O’Care In AR

Oct 23, 20143 min read

McLean Desperately Attempting To Save O’Care In AR

As loyal readers of this humble blog know, state Rep. James McLean, inaugural member of the Davy Carter wing of the Democratic Party, has...

GAO’s “Cost Concerns” on PO, Part II

Oct 13, 20142 min read

GAO’s “Cost Concerns” on PO, Part II

We wrote last month about a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report: it raised some red flags about the costs to taxpayers...

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