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by Talk Business - October 21, 2011 7:00 pm

Brummett Likes Bubba’s Chances

In his final column before moving to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas News Bureau columnist John Brummett looks at the budding race in the First Congressional District and argues that there may actually be a good contest.

by Talk Business - October 21, 2011 7:00 pm

Ross Returning Campaign Cash

Peter Urban with our content partner, Stephens Media, reports that retiring Congressman Mike Ross (D) has stopped raising cash and is giving a chunk of it back.

by Talk Business - October 19, 2011 7:00 pm

Supporters, Opponents Gearing Up For Highway Bond Election

A Nov. 8 special election to potentially renew the state’s GARVEE bond highway program is only about 3 weeks away. You haven’t seen a lot of high-profile attention on either side of the issue, but several activities are in the works.

If approved, the bond issue would allow the state to authorize $575 million in bonds for interstate maintenance and repairs. The revenue stream to pay back the bonds would come from GARVEE revenue and an existing four-cent diesel fuel tax. GARVEE stands for "Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle," a pledge of future funds from the federal government for Arkansas highways.

by Talk Business - October 18, 2011 7:00 pm

Griffin Jobs Conference Theme: Uncertainty

More than 60 central Arkansas business leaders shared the stage with Second District Congressman Tim Griffin (R) on Wednesday in an effort to remedy the biggest proclaimed hurdle facing businesses today: uncertainty.

by Talk Business - October 18, 2011 7:00 pm

Rep. Rice Sends Letter Asking For Speaker Votes

We’ve known for months that the likely showdown for the next Speaker of the House for the 2013 session will be between Democratic Rep. Darrin Williams (D-Little Rock) and Republican Rep. Terry Rice (R-Waldron).

by Talk Business - October 17, 2011 7:00 pm

Arkansas Medicaid Director Resigns

The director of Arkansas’ Medicaid program, Gene Gessow, has resigned according to a spokesperson for Gov. Mike Beebe.  Gessow is leaving for family reasons, says Matt Decample in the Governor’s office.

Arkansas has been exploring major changes to its Medicaid program at the direction of Beebe, who has warned that the state faces a major financial crisis with the program as early as July 2012 if reforms are not enacted.

At the center of Beebe’s controversial proposal is an effort to create medical care groups for certain divisions of health care that would allow for bundled payments versus the current "fee-for-services" method of payment that has threatened Medicaid’s finances.  Yesterday, the first working group of stakeholders met to hammer out potential direction on Medicaid reform.

Decample said that the Governor understood Gessow’s personal reasons for leaving, but his departure won’t threaten Beebe’s efforts to push forward with Medicaid reform.

"It’s not going to slow us down. There’s still a team in place over there (at the Department of Human Services)," Decample said.

The search for a replacement will be conducted by DHS director John Selig in consultation with the Governor, Decample added.

Amy Webb, spokesperson for DHS, emphasized that Gessow was not asked to resign, but that his personal situation dictated a need for his departure.  Webb said that Marilyn Strickland, chief operating officer with the Medicaid division, would serve as interim Medicaid director while a search is conducted.

"He (Gessow) was a visionary," Webb said. "We’ll be looking for someone of that caliber."

by Talk Business - October 11, 2011 7:00 pm

Womack Bill Seeks Online Sales Tax Solution

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, has teamed up with Democratic Congressman Jackie Speier on Wednesday (Oct. 12) to announce their push of legislation that would give states more authority to require online retailers to collect and remit sales taxes.