HJLR Mar/Apr 2019

Healthcare Journal of little rock I  MAR / APR 2019 49 arguments for Medicaid expansion, includ- ing the potential to provide health insurance to a quarter of a millionArkansans. He noted that it is no small feat to win a three-fourths vote in the House and Senate, as the bill to create the program required. “You can’t get three-fourths vote in the House and Senate for motherhood and apple pie, much less Obamacare,” he said. I asked Beebe and Huckabee for their thoughts on the recently added work re- quirement inArkansas’s Medicaid expansion 2013 of Arkansas’s unique, bipartisan ap- proach to Medicaid expansion, nicknamed the Private Option, which provides health care coverage to low-income Arkansans through premium assistance for private in- surance plans. I was part of the group that first proposed the idea to Beebe, and I can vouch for his recollection of his reaction. “I thought you were nuts,” he said. “You think all this stuff up and then you expect me to do it.” Beebe said there were many great Joseph W. Thompson, MD, MPH Director, Arkansas Center for Health Improvement program, which has been named Arkansas Works under Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “While I might have tried to do it a differ- ent way, Gov. Hutchinson was faced with a pragmatic situation, and he needed to con- tinue the program,” Beebe said. “And I ap- plaud him for continuing the program. I’ve told him privately, and I’m here to tell you publicly, Gov. Hutchinson’s continuation of the Private Option under any other name is something we all ought to be very grate- ful for and very proud of. I think you have to be very careful and make sure that you don’t inadvertently drop worthy people out of a systemwhen they need it, but I will ac- knowledge sometimes the pragmatic nature of getting 90 percent of a loaf is worth doing. Now let’s go back and make sure that we’re fair to the other 10 percent.” Huckabee said, “I think work require- ments are legitimate. You just have to make sure that it’s an honest assessment of real work. If people are able-bodied, and they can work, and there’s a job to be had, and in this kind of time when the unemployment level is unbelievably low, then that’s to me a fair request.” Happily, our event actually brought four Arkansas governors together: Hutchinson made opening remarks, and former Gov. Jim Guy Tucker was in the audience. I humbly thank all of them for joining us, as well ev- eryone else who attended. The night was a perfect celebration of ACHI’s past and an energizing way to mark the start of our third decade serving as a catalyst for improving the health of all Arkansans. See the Clinton School’s video of the en- tire discussion at: http://clintonschoolspeakers.com/con- tent/healthcare-discussion-former-gov- ernors-mike-huckabee-and-mike-beebe n Pictured L-R: Former Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Govs. Mike Beebe and Mike Huckabee, and Arkansas Center for Health Improvement President and CEO Dr. Joe Thomp- son pose together before ACHI’s 20th anniversary event on Dec. 3. (Clinton School of Public Ser- vice/Nelson Chenault)