FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 11, 2024

CONTACT
Rachael Slobodien

rachael@opportunityarkansas.org

OPPORTUNITY ARKANSAS UNVEILS NEW REPORT ON STATE’S OUT-OF-CONTROL MEDICAID SPENDING

CONWAY, AR — Today, Opportunity Arkansas released a new research paper, “The Medicaid Monster: Unpacking Arkansas’s Single Largest Budget Driver,” which unpacks the expansive growth of the state’s Medicaid program and underscores the case for why urgent reform is needed.

If Arkansas is to rein-in the growth of government and phase out its state income tax, it is essential for policymakers to begin to take a close look at the state’s bloated Medicaid program. Over the following months, Opportunity Arkansas will release specific policy proposals to address the Medicaid monster.

Upon release of the paper, Opportunity Arkansas Founder and CEO Nic Horton offered the following statement:

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“Arkansas is currently at a crossroads. While policymakers under the leadership of Governor Sarah Sanders have recently made significant progress, lawmakers must enact fundamental Medicaid reform. If we are serious about making Arkansas competitive with neighboring states by eliminating the state’s work-punishing income tax– and I believe we are– we must tame this Medicaid monster once and for all and start to address our dependency crisis.

Government dependency has an enormous financial and human cost. But by reforming our broken Medicaid system and moving able-bodied adults from welfare to work, we can finally start to solve our generational dependency crisis and continue to build on the economic momentum that’s only just beginning."

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In an effort to elevate attention and awareness about the dire need for reform, the report provides additional context about the expansion and  growth of Arkansas’s Medicaid program.

Specifically, the report identifies three major challenges with the program as currently administered. The challenges include:

• SKY-HIGH ENROLLMENT AND SPENDING. Medicaid enrollment and expenditures have grown at an unstable rate that threatens the state budget. Medicaid is the single-largest budget item in the entire state budget, and Arkansas spends roughly $1.3 billion more on Medicaid than the state collects in general revenue.

• BROKEN EXPANSION PROGRAM. The state’s Medicaid expansion program has failed to live up to its promises, costing far more and delivering far less. Medicaid expansion has been a disaster in Arkansas and the private option approach has compounded the problem.

• LACK OF PRIORITIES. Worst of all, truly needy Arkansans are left lingering on waiting lists while nearly one in three Medicaid enrollees in Arkansas are able-bodied, working-age adults.

For meetings, bookings, or interviews, contact Rachael Slobodien via email at rachael@opportunityarkansas.org.

About Opportunity Arkansas Foundation
Opportunity Arkansas Foundation is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization on a mission to renew the Land of Opportunity by simplifying government and solving generational problems for the next generation. OA stands ready to partner with state policymakers who share these goals. To learn more, visit www.OpportunityArkansas.org.

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