Lawmakers Discuss Private Option Votes After House Passage

Speaker Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, said today he believed he had the numbers to pass bills funding the Medicaid budget, including the private option, as well as a task force that will study the issue. An opponent of the private option said his side knew the bills would pass going into the session but lost a number of votes on the floor.

The House passed Senate Bill 101 funding Medicaid, 82-16-1, and Senate Bill 96 creating the task force, 80-16-3.

Gillam said he knew he had the numbers “when the votes were cast.” He then added, “We had indications of broad support, but a lot of members were waiting to hear the presentations and the questions and answers from the presenters. And so there were a lot of folks that I think made up their mind once we were on the floor, which is part of the process. It’s part of what makes our system great.”

Rep. Donnie Copeland, R-Little Rock, an opponent of the private option, said passage was not a surprise. “As they were up, we had people bailing, so we saw the handwriting on the wall. … I knew we were close. Before we went into the chamber, we were at, like 23, and we lost eight. I think it was my speech that made us lose the eight,” he said, laughing.

Some newly elected Republican legislators campaigned promising to end the private option and then voted yes today. Copeland did not have a problem with that decision.

“That stuff happens, and they all have their reasons,” he said. “I’m not going to try to read their mind. I am very disappointed. Here’s the thing: I felt like we could have held out and gotten real repeal, could have gotten real caps. … I trust the governor explicitly. I trust this speaker explicitly, but I don’t trust the language of that bill.”

Rep. Laurie Rushing, R-Hot Springs, was one of those legislators. After the vote, she explained, “I was elected to come up here and end the private option. And, yes, we’ve had repeated bill after bill after bill go through committee, and they’ve been shot down. And so I needed to stay true to my campaign promise, and my campaign promise was to end it, and this is the only bill that has made it to the floor that does that. … This is the responsible way, and it puts an end to it, and it does a whole overhaul of … Medicaid reform.”

Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville, another private option opponent, also voted yes. He said he had talked to Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s office and been assured that efforts would be made to curb the program’s growth.

“I really wanted to see the cap and be able to limit enrollment from the feds, but wasn’t able to do that, so the next best thing is (trying) to do that from a state perspective,” he said. “So moving forward, we’ll just have to try to figure out how to implement policies to keep the enrollment from growing any more than it already is.”

After the vote, Hutchinson’s office released the following statement: “The vote in the House today on the Health Reform Task Force bill and accompanying appropriation was a bipartisan effort and represents the right step forward as we seek ways to best reform Medicaid in Arkansas. I am grateful for the confidence that the Legislature has placed in the task force and the opportunity it represents to guide the future of health care reform in Arkansas.”