Arkansas Health Insurance

Health insurance in Arkansas

● Arkansas state residents use the federally run health insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov, to enroll in insurance under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

● Open enrollment for 2021 coverage in Arkansas will begin on November 1, 2020; Residents with qualifying events can register outside of open enrollment.

● Short-term health plans can be sold in Arkansas with initial plan terms of up to 364 days.

● Arkansas State accepted the ACA's Medicaid expansion, but implemented a private option.

● 21% of Arkansas residents are enrolled in Medicare.

With the COVID pandemic, many people need to make a change in their health insurance coverage. This page is designed to provide consumers with useful resources about health insurance options in Arkansas.

Here you will find information about the many types of health insurance coverage available. You can find the basics of Arkansas health insurance market and the next open enrollment period; a brief overview of Medicaid expansion in Arkansas; a quick look at the assasability of short-term health insurance in the state; statistics on state-specific Medicare rules; as well as a collection of health insurance resources for Arkansas residents. The market (also called exchange), Medicare, and Medicaid all include coverage for medical expenses and prescription drugs.

Arkansas health insurance marketplace

health insurance exchange was authorized by the ACA (Affordable Care Act). ACA rules require that some essential health services be covered by the plans offered in the event of an exchange. You can use the insurance market to sign up for a plan and see if your income level is eligible for grants or cost-sharing reductions (CSR) to help you pay monthly premiums and other expensive out-of-pocket expenses (such as a deductible or copay). The health insurance market is a good option for individuals or families who own a small business or are employed by an organization that does not provide health insurance coverage.

For the first three years of implementing the exchanges, Arkansas had an exchange of partnerships with individuals. But since 2016, the state has used a state-based exchange using the federal registration platform to HealthCare.gov. Read a history of the Arkansas health insurance marketplace.

Arkansas opens enrollment period and dates

Open enrollment for 2021 health insurance in Arkansas runs from November 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020, with coverage starting January 1, 2021.

Open enrollment for 2020 health insurance plans in Arkansas state ended in December 2019, but residents with qualifying events (including the loss of an employer-sponsored plan) can still enroll or make changes to their insurance for 2020, depending on the circumstances.

During the open enrollment period for 2020 health coverage, 64,360 people enrolled in the plans through the Arkansas exchange.

Medicaid expansion in Arkansas

Medicaid in a health insurance option available to people on low or very low incomes or those with disabilities. Medicaid is a joint state and federal program. The federal government defines broad requirements and the state determines eligibility levels and manages the program. Some people qualify for both Medicaid and Medicare.

Arkansas was the first state to receive federal approval to expand Medicaid through the private option. The approach uses federal Medicaid money to subsidize the purchase of QHP through the market for people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Iowa and New Hampshire both tried this approach for a while, but both have since switched to medicaid-run care.

Arkansas Works is the name of the Medicaid expansion program in Arkansas.

As of Oct 2018, there were 252642 people who had coverage under Arkansas Works. That number decreased in 2018, due to the state's newly implemented Medicaid work requirement. But the work requirement was overturned by a Government judge in early 2019 and has not been reinstated. By May 2020, total enrollment in Arkansas Works had grown to 261,975, which was an increase of about 11,000 people in a month, driven largely by peak unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The total Medicaid enrollment in Arkansas (including the population of Arkansas Works and ARKids First) was 801,314 as of April 2020. That was 44 percent higher than in 2013, before Medicaid expanded.

Short-term health insurance in Arkansas

Arkansas state is not in compliance with federal regulations for short-term health insurance, meaning short-term health insurance coverage in Arkansas can have initial terms of up to 364 days and total duration - include renewals - up to 36 months.

However, short-term rates must go through the state review process, and Arkansas requires short-term medical insurance in Arkansas to cover many state benefits.

How did Obamacare help Arkansas?

Arkansas is probably among the nation's ACA success stories.

According to U.S. Census data, Arkansas had an uninsured rate of 16% in 2013. That number fell to 7.9 by 2016, a reduction of more than 50%, although it grew to 8.2% by 2018 (nationally, the uninsured rate increased under the Trump administration). Enrollment in qualified health plans (QHPs), Medicaid qualifications, or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) based on existing eligibility requirements, and Medicaid/CHIP qualifications under extended eligibility rules contributed to the decline.

Much of Arkansas' success in reducing the uninsured rate is due to the state's expansion of Medicaid. As of May 2020, there were nearly 262,000 people enrolled in Arkansas Works (the state's expansion program), and total Medicaid enrollment in the state had increased by about 44% from where it had been prior to expansion.

But it is noteworthy that the inscription had been even higher in 2018; as of January 2018, there were about 285,000 people enrolled in Arkansas Works, and Medicaid enrollment in the state was up about 54 percent from 2013. Arkansas state obtained permission in March 2018 to implement a work requirement

for Arkansas Works, starting in June 2018, which led thousands of people to lose coverage before a judge overturned the work requirement in early 2019.

Arkansas and the Affordable Care Act

At the state level, a bill to establish a state-run exchange was considered during the 2011 legislative session, but it was not adopted. The Arkansas Department of Insurance then shifted gears and received grants in February 2012 to develop a partnership exchange.

In Sep 2014 the board of directors of the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace voted to transition to a state-run exchange.in Arkansas state-run exchange began offering coverage during the 2017 open enrollment period, though Governor Asa Hutchinson had previously questioned whether the state should go ahead with its plans, following the 2015 Supreme Court's decision in King v. Burwell that ensured that subsidies would continue to be available in states that use federally managed exchange.

As of September 24, 2015, the state's progress toward creating a state-run exchange was "paused," according to Governor Hutchinson, but soon returned to the track and the state-run exchange (which uses HealthCare.gov's registration platform) was operational in time for the early November 2016 of the open enrollment period for 2017 coverage.

Does Arkansas have a high-risk pool?

Before the ACA reformed the individual health insurance market, coverage was underwritten by the medical reference point in nearly every state, including Arkansas. The CHIP (Arkansas Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool; note that this is not the same as the Children's Health Insurance Program) was created in 1996 to provide medical insurance in Arkansas state for people who were unable to buy individual health insurance because of their medical history.

An important component of the ACA is the requirement that all policies be guaranteed a problem. As there is no longer a medical subscription in the single major medical insurance market, the need for high-risk pools has largely been eliminated. Arkansas Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool ceased operations on December 31, 2014, as applicants were able to secure release coverage with an effective date of January 1, 2014, through arkansas health insurance exchange.

Medicare coverage and enrollment in Arkansas

Medicare covers people over the age of 65, some people with disabilities, and people with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Eligible people can sign up for "original" Medicare or Medicare Advantage. Under original or "traditional" Medicare, the federal government pays directly for the health service you receive.

In Medicare Advantage, you've chosen from one of the many private health plans in your state, and the federal government pays for the health care plan you receive. Medicare Advantage plans are necessary to provide all services covered by the original Medicare, and individual plans may offer optional additional services, such as dental or vision coverage, within the premium you pay. You can change Medicare Benafits plans or move between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare each year during the open enrollment period. This article provides a useful discussion about Medicare options.

As of mid-2020, there were 643,442 Arkansas residents enrolled in Medicare. About 20% of Arkansas Medicare enrollment is in Medicare Advantage plans.

Read more about Medicare in Arkansas, including the state's Medigap rules and the availability of private Medicare plans, as well as medicare enrollment specifications.

Arkansas Health Insurance Resources

● Arkansas Center for Health Improvement

● Arkansas Insurance Department Consumer Services Division

● ARKIDS 1ST

● Arkansas Senior Health Insurance Information Program (Medicare Care)