Martin O'Malley, the former Maryland governor who ran for president in 2016, will campaign Tuesday at UA-Little Rock with Democratic gubernatorial nominees Jared Henderson.
In addition to coverage expansion, there was much talk at the Southern Governors Conference on health care payment reform — Gov. Mike Beebe argued that while it has gotten less attention, the state's Payment Improvement Initiative is an equally important development in health care reform in the state. Beebe said he was "more convinced than ever that fee for service was an unsustainable model for the payment of health care in this country."
Gov. Mike Beebe, as well as governors from Maryland and Kentucky, discussed health care reform and the private option – the unique Arkansas version of Medicaid expansion – at a panel this morning at the Southern Governors Association meeting. Here are a few highlights, including the unique status of Arkansas and Kentucky, the possibility that the private option helped cut disability applications, and why Beebe thinks Arkansas got it right and Louisiana got it wrong.
Tyler Pearson, the Democratic challenger to Republican extremist Sen. Jason Rapert, will get a celebrity endorsement Saturday from the governor of Maryland.