Health care sharing ministries (HCSMs) are faith-based, nonprofit organizations that offer an alternative to health insurance by allowing others in a ministry to help pay for medical expenses. HCSMs have been gaining in popularity in recent years. Read More
In March 2018, Arkansas became the third state to receive approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement a work requirement for Medicaid adults, following the department’s approval of work requirements submitted by Kentucky and Indiana. The approval preceded agency action on similar requests from other states–including Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Utah, and Wisconsin–and represents a stark shift in federal policy regarding the objectives of the Medicaid program. State officials expect Arkansas to be the first state to implement work requirements, with a June 1, 2018, effective date for Arkansas Works enrollees. Read More
ACHI Health Policy Director Craig Wilson and President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson provide a detailed look at the work requirement approved for Arkansas’s expanded Medicaid program in a blog post for Health Affairs. Read More
This fact sheet explores national, state, and local violent-crime data, describes the direct and indirect health impacts of violent crime, and documents some interventions with positive outcomes. Read More
CapitolGo! highlighted the importance of healthy choices and physical activity by encouraging participants to log their steps in a smartphone app as part of a walking challenge. Read More
Medicaid expansion has also brought billions of new federal dollars into Arkansas’ economy: $1.7 billion just between January 2014 and June 2015, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Gov. Asa Hutchinson has pushed for maintaining expansion by noting that ending it would leave a massive hole in the state’s budget that would have to be made up for with cuts. Read More
The report offers a preliminary look into the conditions, coverage sources, and demographics of individuals registered for medical marijuana. Read More
In the 2016-2017 school year, 98 percent of Arkansas public schools contributed valid measurements to the statewide BMI assessment. The results show that more than one in five (22.0%) of all public school-aged children are classified as obese. For students in grade 10, nearly one in four (25.4%) are obese, which is the highest rate recorded for this grade since data collection began in 2003-2004. Read More
