Arkansas Senate OKs plan to overhaul Medicaid expansion

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Senate on Tuesday approved a plan to overhaul the state’s Medicaid expansion by encouraging rather than requiring people on the program to work or go to school.

The Senate voted 26-3 in favor of the effort to rework the expansion, which currently covers about 300,000 people in the state. The measure now heads to the House.

The proposal moves away from a work requirement blocked by the federal courts and President Joe Biden’s administration. It will continue using federal and state funds to put people in the program on private insurance plans, but those who don’t work or go to school could be moved to traditional fee-for-service Medicaid.