LITTLE ROCK — A legislative panel Thursday failed to endorse state spending from a multimillion-dollar federal grant to implement a key component of the national health care reform law.
State Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford had sought an endorsement from the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Subcommittee for the state Insurance Department’s use of a $7.7 million federal grant to fund various aspects of planning for a federally mandated health insurance exchange in Arkansas.
The subcommittee voted 10-3 on the request, with 11 votes needed for a favorable review from the 20-member panel.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires the creation of insurance exchanges in every state by 2014. States were given the option of setting up their own exchanges, but Arkansas declined, so the state’s exchange will be run by the federal government.
Bradford was seeking permission to spend federal money to establish a partnership with federal officials that would give Arkansas some authority, including regulatory power, in operating the exchange in the state. Without the partnership, the state would lose any control over the exchange, he said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“I just don’t want it to (slip) through our hands for our people here,” Bradford said.
Republicans lawmakers questioned the need to spend any money on an operation that might not survive a court challenge.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in legal challenges to the federal health care law last week. A ruling is expected in June.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of states waiting for the next two months to see some resolution before we spend millions of dollars of taxpayer money,” said Rep. John Burris, R-Harrison.
Bradford said his department needed authority to start spending at least some of the money right away because “there are certain benchmarks that we’ve got to get to work on.”
Rep. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, moved to refer the request to the legislative interim committees on insurance and commerce. The motion did not receive enough votes to carry.
Sen. Jim Luker, D-Wynne, then made the motion to give the request a favorable review.
Voting for the motion were Reps. Tiffany Rogers, D-Stuttgart; Tommy Baker, D-Osceola; David “Bubba” Powers, D-Hope; Linda Tyler, D-Conway; Gary Leding, D-Fayetteville; and John Catlett, D-Rover, voting as the alternate of Robert Moore Jr., D-Arkansas City; and Sens. Luker; Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville; Gene Jeffress, D-Louann; and Mary Anne Salmon, D-North Little Rock.
Voting against it were Reps. Burris, Rice and Robert Dale, R-Dover, and Sen. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home. Co-chairman Rep. James McLean, D-Batesville, did not vote.
“That was a real close call on that vote,” Bradford told reporters later. “I really feel like we’ll see that issue readdressed by the committee once the dust settles.”
If the committee does not revisit the issue, “we lose the function of the partnership to have at least some input on the destination of our citizens as far as their form of health care,” Bradford said. “I’m quite concerned if we’re not allowed to stay in a position of helping Arkansans.”