Arkansas’ top insurance official said he hopes to win legislative approval next year to begin implementing a key part of the federal health care overhaul.
Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford said he plans to ask the state Legislature to give him the authority to set up its state health insurance exchange when it convenes for its fiscal session next year. The state Insurance Department has been planning for the exchange using a $1 million grant, but legislation authorizing its setup stalled in the Legislature earlier this year over objections to the federal health care law.
Bradford said getting the exchange legislation considered will be difficult, since any non-budget matters during the fiscal session require a two-thirds vote in both chambers to even be considered.
“The math is tough, but I would be remiss in my job as a regulator to take care of Arkansans if I didn’t ask the Legislature to do that,” Bradford told reporters after briefing legislators on the exchange. “It’s a hard case because people have very different opinions about which way we should go. The serious part of it is if they stop me mid-stream, we cede this whole process to the federal government.”
Earlier this year, Republicans in the majority-Democrat Legislature had blocked the Insurance Department’s budget because of concerns about the exchange. The budget was finally approved after a companion bill authorizing the exchange’s setup was sent to a committee for study rather than a vote.
The health care law created a new stream of federal funding for health care: tax credits to subsidize private insurance coverage for people participating in new state marketplaces called “exchanges.” They open for business in 2014.
Bradford and Gov. Mike Beebe have warned that by not authorizing the state to set up its exchange, the power for setting them up will instead be ceded to the federal government.
“I am very concerned that if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the act and if the national election, if the incumbent wins, we’re in jeopardy of losing regulatory authority that states have always had over health insurance,” Bradford told lawmakers.
The state has been holding a series of planning meetings and community forums on the exchange through a grant that is expected to run out later this fall. Findings from the community forums will be detailed in a report released in November.
Bradford said he plans to seek another grant for the state to continue planning for the exchange later this year, and would need interim approval from a legislative panel to use those funds. Any future grants after the next one would require the state to have authorization to set up its exchange.
Bradford faced skepticism from some Republican lawmakers who said they were worried about a lack of information on how an exchange would operate if approved.
“It’s hard to know what to discuss when we don’t know what the possibilities are,” said Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy. Bradford promised to provide more information on the findings from the hearings to lawmakers.
Bradford said he hoped to get approval to continue planning for the exchange, and said how the Legislature approaches that issue could indicate the success a vote on the exchange would have next year.
“I’m going to go down fighting on that issue…but it would be an indication, if the interim (appropriation) was not approved, it would be very much trouble for Arkansans,” Bradford said.
Topics Legislation Arkansas
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