Arkansas health insurance

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status report:
Arkansas state health insurance exchange

What progress is being made in setting up its federally-mandated Arkansas state health insurance exchange?"

About state health insurance exchanges

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How did Arkansas officials vote on health reform?

H.R.2: Repealing the Health Care Bill

#14

Date of Vote: 1/19/2011 Status: House passed 245-189, 1 not voting

HOUSE|SENATE

1/19/2011--Passed House amended. Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by such Act. Repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by the Act's health care provisions. [more]

Yes (4)

• Rick Crawford

• Tim Griffin

• Mike Ross

• Steve Womack

how healthy is living in Arkansas?

Arkansas fell eights spots in 2010, ranking as the 48th healthiest state to live in, according to the United Health Foundation.

The good news:

• The state's rate of preventable hospitalizations has dropped and smoking has declined slightly over five years.
• Arkansas was also praised for having a low prevalence of binge drinking and a low incidence of infectious disease.

The bad news:

• Challenges for the state include high rates of obesity and deaths from both cardiovascular disease and cancer.
• Arkansas also has a high rate of occupational fatalities and high rates of children in poverty, coupled with low immunization coverage.

The state's best and worst category ratings:

• Prevalence of binge drinking – 7th
• Children under 18 in poverty – 45th
• Premature death – 45th
• Cancer deaths – 45th
• Cardiovascular deaths – 45th

more details

• See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Arkansas.
• Trust for America's Health ia another source for key Arkansas health quality findings. In addition, 2010's federal health reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), included the creation of a prevention fund to provide more than $16 billion over the next 10 years to invest in effective, proven prevention efforts, like childhood obesity prevention and tobacco cessation, and the site has a report on how it impacts Arkansas here.

get local health results

State snapshot too large? Get county-by-county health rankings for Arkansas, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin.

does Arkansas have a health insurance high risk pool?

Arkansas Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan
Toll-free 1-800-285-6477

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Arkansas started offering health care insurance coverage to residents through the federally established temporary high-risk pool program. To find out more about Arkansas's participation, click here.

Risk pools are state-sponsored programs to help people with a history of medical problems in their family to purchase coverage. These pools are for people who can afford to buy health insurance, but are not able to get underwritten in the private market because of a pre-existing health condition. These programs can vary significantly from state to state in price, benefits and number of people served. Often insurance companies doing business in the state are required to contribute to the pool to keep it in the black. In the best cases, they allow people to be able to switch jobs or become self-employed without the fear of losing their health insurance coverage. Read more about risk pools here.

how to find health insurance in Arkansas

Cover The Uninsured is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders. Read more information on its efforts. It is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

• Cover The Uninsured's facts on the uninsured in Arkansas and all other states.
• The Foundation for Health Coverage Education's guide on how to find health insurance in Arkansas.
• Materiales En Español – Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

Georgetown's Arkansas health insurance guide

Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute has researched and written state-by-state guides for finding and keeping health insurance. It updates these guides as federal and state policies change. A number of non-profit organizations help fund its research. Learn more about the Health Policy Institute.

Review Georgetown's guide for Arkansas.

Health insurance plan report cards for Arkansas

The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, non-profit organization that, among other things, provides health care plan report cards for consumers.

Go here to search for Arkansas health insurance plan report cards.

Arkansas government health insurance resources

Arkansas Insurance Department Life and Health Division – regulates life and health insurance in Arkansas.

Arkansas Senior Health Insurance Information Program – regulates life and health insurance in Arkansas.

ARKIDS 1ST – provides two coverage options for more than 70,000 Arkansas children: ARKids A offers low-income families a comprehensive package of benefits; ARKids B provides coverage for families with higher incomes.