A bill directing about $28 million a year in Medicaid funds to help people with developmental disabilities cleared a House committee on Tuesday.
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House Bill 1033, sponsored by state Rep. Andy Mayberry, R-Hensley, would allocate $8.5 million annually from the state's share of the 1998 national settlement with tobacco companies toward reducing the number of Arkansans who are on a waiting list for the services.
The federal government would match the state funds, designated for Medicaid, with about $20 million, providing a total of about $28 million. That would provide help with daily living tasks to 500 to 900 of the 3,000 people on the waiting list, Mayberry said.
Mayberry noted that some people have been on the waiting list for 10 years.
"The state very much needs to address this issue," Mayberry said. "It's not only a legal issue but a moral one as well."
The tobacco settlement funds had been directed to the ARHealthNetworks program, which provided limited health benefits to about 20,000 Arkansans of up to 200 percent of the poverty level.
That program ended in 2014 because of more comprehensive subsidized coverage that became available under the 2010 federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The House Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor on Tuesday recommended passage of HB1033 in a voice vote, with no members dissenting.
Because it would amend how the settlement funds are distributed under Initiated Act 1 of 2000, HB1033 will require approval by a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate.
A Section on 01/18/2017