State lawmakers vote to keep Medicaid plan

LITTLE ROCK—Arkansas lawmakers voted Tuesday to keep the state's Medicaid expansion another year, days after a court decision blocking the state from enforcing a work requirement put the program's future in limbo.

The majority-Republican House voted 75-18 for the budget for Medicaid and the expansion program, sending the legislation to GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The Senate-backed bill on Friday fell short nearly two dozen votes of the 75 needed in the 100-member House to win final approval.

The vote comes nearly a week after a federal judge blocked Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky.

Hutchinson has urged the federal government to appeal the decision and said he wanted lawmakers to maintain the expansion program, which covers 235,000 people.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana/story/2019/apr/03/state-lawmakers-vote-keep-medicaid-plan/772560/