Arkansas health insurance exchanges still in play

Editor’s note: Roby Brock, with our content partner Talk Business, wrote this report. He can be reached at [email protected]

Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford told members of a Joint Public Health Committee on Monday (June 27) that he planned to ask for legislative approval of controversial health insurance exchanges in the 2012 fiscal session and he said that a second federal grant could be secured by the state.

The department’s attempt to provide a framework for the exchange program was thwarted in the 2011 regular session as GOP lawmakers opposed to the federal health care law blocked the bill.

The state has received $1 million in federal grant funding to set up the exchanges, but must show progress to the feds in order to maintain state control. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately rule on the constitutionality of key provisions of federal health care, which could impact the health insurance exchange effort.

Bradford said he will seek legislative support in February 2012 for an exchange framework, although working groups are still outlining how they may work. To get non-budgetary manners considered in a legislative fiscal session, a two-thirds majority of the membership of the House and Senate must approve potential legislation.

Bradford tells Talk Business that he knows getting the issue on the session call will be an uphill battle.

"I’m going to try, but it’s certainly a long shot," he said. "The choice is do we want to have the state control it or the feds."

Bradford also said Arkansas has received high praise in the early phases of its health care exchange and rate review applications to federal officials — so much so that he feels confident the state may qualify for a second federal grant later this fall.

When asked how large the second grant for health care exchanges could be, Bradford said, "I’m not sure. It will be considerably more than the million dollars we got in the first phase."

If successful, Bradford will have to gain legislative approval for the second federal grant through an interim oversight committee and possibly in the 2012 fiscal session.

Should lawmakers thwart a new effort to implement state-level control of the health insurance exchanges, Bradford said he may default to federal control on the issue.

Gov. Mike Beebe has said he does not plan to use an executive order to institute the exchanges; however, several states’ governors have and federal law does not prevent executive privilege.