Arkansas Governor Expects HHS to Approve Waiver Allowing Parental Choice Between ARKids A and ARKids B

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) "expects" to receive a waiver from the Bush administration that would allow the state to run its ARKids B in a "manner rejected previously by the Clinton administration," the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. The waiver would allow parents to choose between the state's traditional Medicaid program, known as ARKids A, or ARKids B, the state's Medicaid waiver program that covers children at higher incomes. Huckabee said that after having a conversation with HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, he understood that the waiver had been granted, the Democrat-Gazette reports. However, state Medicaid Director Ray Hanley said that he believed Thompson was referring to another state program. The Clinton administration had opposed the waiver, as it wanted all Medicaid-eligible children to enroll in ARKids A -- which offers more services than ARKids B and does not charge copayments as ARKids B does -- regardless of parents' preference. For his part, Huckabee maintains that some "prideful" parents would prefer to enroll their children in ARKids B because they "want to contribute to their children's health coverage." The Clinton administration had ordered Arkansas to place all Medicaid-eligible children into ARKids A, but Huckabee resisted "in the hopes that Bush would be elected." Huckabee said that Bush is "more likely to allow states to make [enrollment] decisions." He added that Thompson's "whole approach to governing is to essentially let the state innovate and run their own programs. ... He (Thompson) is just so very encouraging about wanting to give states the power, and he said that he basically spent his first few days in office signing more waivers than probably has been done in 10 years." Huckabee said he would call Thompson to "get the matter clarified." As Huckabee and Hanley lobby Thompson to approve the state's waiver, the Democrat-Gazette reports that Hanley is being considered to head HCFA. Huckabee said, "If they don't get [Hanley], they will be missing an opportunity to have the very finest expert on Medicaid issues in that position" (Wickline/Blomeley, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2/22).

Expanding Eligibility for Seniors
In other Arkansas Medicaid news, the state House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee approved a bill (HB 1105) that would double the asset eligibility limits for individuals age 65 or older. The bill would raise the assets limit to $4,000 for individuals and $6,000 for couples. Some assets, including homes and personal and household goods, are exempt from the test. However, the proposed change would only take effect if the state can afford it, the Democrat-Gazette reports. No estimate of how much the change would cost has been made, but Hanley said the bill would cost "several million dollars." The state has not increased the assets limit in more than 20 years (Wickline, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2/21).