HB1143 Summary

• Creates the Health Care Independence Act of 2013 to reform Arkansas Medicaid by offering private insurance options through a Health Insurance Marketplace to low-income adults aged 19-65 with incomes up to 138% of federal poverty level.

• Requires the Department of Human Services to seek federal waivers and Medicaid State Plan Amendments to implement a program that provides premium assistance and cost-sharing subsidies for eligible individuals to purchase Qualified Health Plans.

• Establishes that participating health insurance carriers must maintain minimum medical loss ratios (80% for individual/small group, 85% for large group) and participate in Arkansas Payment Improvement Initiatives focusing on primary care clinicians and patient-centered medical homes.

• Creates a Health Care Independence Program Trust Fund to hold savings from increased premium tax collections, reduced uncompensated care, and other spending reductions resulting from the program.

• Makes implementation conditional on federal approval and an appropriation passed by three-fourths vote of both houses; requires program to terminate within 120 days if federal medical assistance percentages fall below specified thresholds (90% in 2020 and beyond).