Under the plan, federal dollars and money from the state’s tobacco settlement will be used to subsidize the cost of insurance for small-business owners’ lower-income workers.
ARKANSAS UNVEILS NEW HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
December 21, 2006
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) on Wednesday unveiled a new health insurance program he said will allow small-business owners and their employees better access to medical coverage. The plan, called ARHealthNet, offers affordable medical benefits to those adults who work for a small business that hasn’t offered health care coverage in the past year or longer.
Under the plan, federal dollars and money from the state’s tobacco settlement will be used to subsidize the cost of insurance for small-business owners’ lower-income workers.
The subsidies will go for workers with annual household incomes of 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level.
The employers then will cover all their employees.
Huckabee said he wasn’t sure what the cost of the program will be for the state, but that it could fall between $20 million and $30 million:
The space in ARHealthNet is limited to 15,000 people until September 2008; after that, it will be expanded to 80,000 people.
The cost for the small businesses will vary from $30 to $300 per month for each employee, depending on the employee’s income and number of dependents.
Employees will share the costs by paying deductibles, co-payments and possibly some premiums.
Source: Mark Friedman, “Arkansas Unveils New Health Insurance Plan For Small Businesses,” Arkansas Business, December 20, 2006.
Source: Mark Friedman, “Arkansas Unveils New Health Insurance Plan For Small Businesses,” Arkansas Business, December 20, 2006.
