Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge issued statements late Friday in support of a decision earlier in the day by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear oral arguments on Arkansas’ Medicaid Expansion Community-Engagement Requirement, otherwise known as Arkansas Works.
Arkansas Works is a pilot Medicaid expansion program designed to encourage able-bodied Arkansans without dependents to transition into the workforce.
The Washington Post reports Arkansas and New Hampshire want to continue programs halted by lower courts, and more than a dozen other states say they want to impose similar requirements.
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in February that President Trump’s health officials had “arbitrary and capricious” in allowing Arkansas to launch a Medicaid program called Arkansas Works two years ago.
In Gov. Hutchinson’s brief statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision, he said, “I am grateful the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh the merits of this case. The ability of a state to conduct Medicaid demonstration projects like Arkansas Works is of national significance. It has always been our goal to provide healthcare to an expanded population of Arkansans while also providing tools for them to achieve economic stability and independence.”
Attorney General Rutledge said in her statement, “I am pleased the U.S. Supreme Court will hear our case on why the requirements under Arkansas Works’ are necessary to build a better future for Arkansans. Arkansas Works reaffirms Arkansas’s commitment to ensure the Medicaid program is sustainable.”
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI