Southern leadership in health care

Can a Southern state be a leader in finding ways to extend health coverage to the uninsured?

Arkansas proved this week that it can. As the New York Times reported yesterday, the state received federal approval to use its Medicaid dollars to support a program offering bare-bones health plans to small businesses.

The employer-based program is novel in two ways. The benefit package is extremely limited, much more austere than Medicaid's. In addition, if an employer wants to participate, it must guarantee that all its employees, regardless of income or other factors, will be covered. ...

Under the plan, to be approved by Michael O. Leavitt, secretary of health and human services, the state expects to enroll at least 50,000 workers with incomes less than twice the federal poverty level and 30,000 workers with higher incomes. The poverty level this year is $9,800 for an individual, $13,200 for a couple. ...

Federal officials said the Arkansas program could be a model for other states that want to expand coverage without substantially increasing costs.

People who sign up for the program will receive a basic benefit package covering six doctor visits a year, seven days of inpatient hospital care a year, two outpatient hospital procedures or emergency room visits a year and two prescription drugs a month.

Beneficiaries will have to pay an annual deductible of $100 and 15 percent of the cost of each service, with a maximum out-of-pocket cost of $1,000 a year, state officials said.

It's not perfect, but it's a good start, and certainly better than nothing for the thousands of workers who otherwise would have no coverage. We need to continue down this road and find new ways to address this problem, because the current situation is untenable for everyone.