End-around to fund Arkansas Works fails

After a day of legal and constitutional maneuvering, funding for Arkansas Works and the Department of Human Services’ Medical Services Division remained as uncertain in the end as it was in the beginning.

Arkansas Works is Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s version of the private option, which is the government program that uses federal Medicaid dollars to purchase private health insurance for adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. As of the end of January, 267,590 Arkansans were eligible for coverage. Arkansas Works passed the Legislature during the recent special session, but failed to achieve three-fourths majorities that would ensure passage during the current fiscal session.

Supporters hatched a plan they saw as a path forward: Vote on the issue Thursday in the Senate, where it would fail. Then, attach an amendment in Joint Budget Committee that would fund the entire division without funding Arkansas Works. Then Hutchinson would execute a line-item veto of that part of the bill when it reached his desk. Then, the Legislature would fail to override the veto. Opponents could say they voted against Arkansas Works, but the funding would occur.

That was the idea. Senators did vote in the chamber against Arkansas Works by the same margin as in the special session, 25-10. But that plan ran into trouble in the Joint Budget Committee. After Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Gravette, an Arkansas Works supporter, introduced the amendment that would defund Arkansas Works, one of the opponents, Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, said the Legislature was giving Hutchinson the power to insert spending against the will of the Legislature.

Then the amendment failed to get out of committee, 22-22. Clark voted no, as did Sen. Cecille Bledsoe, R-Rogers, another Arkansas Works Senate opponent. That meant the amendment failed.

All but one Democrat, Sen. David Johnson, D-Little Rock, voted no. Afterwards, Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said, “I’m not sure what the scheme really is. All I know is that the people I represent are not going to appreciate me voting not to fund Arkansas Works.”

She later added, “It puts us in a very difficult position. It’s almost oxymoronic to vote against something that you’re for, in order to get what you’re for.”

After the Joint Budget Committee meeting, the House of Representatives failed by a vote of 68-0 with 32 Democrats not voting or voting present to approve the general appropriation bill, which under the Arkansas Constitution must be the first appropriation bill passed. The full House won’t meet again until Tuesday, and neither will the Senate.

In a letter to Speaker of the House Jeremy Gillam on Wednesday, Rep. Michael John Gray, D-Augusta, the House minority leader, said House Democrats believe the Medical Services Division funding should be settled early in the session before other appropriations bills, not including the general appropriation bills, are considered.

Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe, said the day’s events did not surprise him. He said members need more time to process what is happening.

“A number of members that I know are supportive still wanted some time to process, so I’m not surprised at all how it turned out,” he said.

What’s next? Dismang said, “We’ve got a long weekend. Members are going to have a lot of discussions and talks, and we’ll keep pressing forward.” He said the line-item veto strategy is not dead.

Hendren said, “Nobody thought this would be an easy process, and it’s not going to be, but we’re at, what, day two of the session? We’ve got plenty of time to work this out, and we will. I mean, we were within a few votes today of passing out more than likely a path to success.”

In a statement from his office, Hutchinson said, “The first vote in the Senate fell short of the three-fourths vote required, but I’m pleased by the growing bipartisan recognition that the DHS Medical Services appropriation bill in the end will be fully funded. That is the responsibility of government and must be done. I’ll continue to work with both Democrats and Republicans to achieve a successful resolution.”

Abortion also became an issue in the Joint Budget Committee and threatened to cause the program to lose a vote. Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, an Arkansas Works supporter, asked Dawn Stehle, director of the Medical Services Division, if the so-called “morning after pill,” which some consider an abortion-inducing measure, can be covered under Arkansas Works. Stehle replied that it can.

Rapert said he had been told many times that it would not and asked if the use of the pill is a federal requirement. Stehle said DHS would check on that. DHS has not yet responded to questions from Talk Business & Politics about the answer.

Rapert said it would be harder for him to support Arkansas Works if funds are used for abortion, explaining that the pill “is not a contraception; it’s the killing of a little baby.” He asked that the situation be fixed in special language added to the bill.