Private Option Clears Committee But With A Flip-Flop And A Concession

Rep. John Burris continued his diligent shepherding on the the private option plan Tuesday before the House Public Health Committee,  which he chairs.  If you missed Burris’ two hour presentation to the full House yesterday, you should check it out.  He did a phenomenal job.

Another solid performance Tuesday getting a “Do Pass” on both the House bill – HB1143 – and the Senate mirror bill – SB1020.  But there were a couple of important footnotes for those whipping the votes.

First, Majority Leader Rep. Bruce Westerman went from a co-sponsor of the bill to an opponent and did so in a pretty high-profile flip flop.  He took to the committee table to speak in favor of an amendment removing his name – a parliamentary maneuver that could have easily been done without the fanfare.

“I want to slow down and take more time. I believe we are rushing this,” explained Westerman. “We may be on the right path but I don’t think we have arrived yet. There was an analogy used as a home – I think we have the sketch of a dream home on a napkin and we are getting ready to close on it in two weeks.”

Westerman did not say exactly what changed his mind from being such a strong supporter that he was one of a handful of co-sponsors a few days ago to being against the bill and instead pushing for delay now. But his change of position is certainly notable.  As majority leader, he is likely to carry some sway with his caucus and could swing enough votes to make getting the 75 votes needed problematic.

Another key moment came from some rather smart questioning from Rep. Kim Hammer regarding the appropriation bill – HB1219 – that will fund the private option plan if passed by 75 percent of both chambers.  Hammer noted – as pointed out by Talk Business earlier this week – that the appropriation is part of a larger appropriation for the full Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of Medicaid Services, which includes much more than just the private option plan.

“Just to be straightforward, what I don’t want to see happen is that if some of us or anybody chooses not to go along with the Medicaid expansion, we have to vote your whole budget down,” said Hammer to DHS director John Selig. “All of sudden it is going to show up in the paper that we threw grandma back on the street again for the second time this session and other issues.  Am I incorrect in that interpretation that that theoretically could happen if we have to vote against your appropriation because we don’t like the expansion?”

“I heard Rep. Burris offer an option if that were to happen,” answered Selig.

He was referring to Burris’ assurance given minutes earlier to Hammer.

“I can very much assure you that if the bill passes and the appropriation does not have 75 votes, we will amend out what is required to be amended out and pass the DHS appropriation. I will not allow…the threats of shutting down an agency are over-played and that is not going to be the argument of why we have to pass an appropriation bill. If 75 people don’t pass it, then we will do what we need to do to take it out and pass the appropriation to fund DHS as it exists today.”

With the committee passing out the bill and it moving to the House floor as soon as Thursday, bookmark these two moments as the events progress.