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Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas on Wednesday told an advisory group weighing the future of the state’s alternative Medicaid expansion that he favored keeping it — but only if the federal government allowed changes that seemed intended to appeal to conservative legislators who continue to oppose the program. Mr. Hutchinson, a Republican who took office in January, created the advisory group to recommend whether to change or replace the state’s “private option” version of Medicaid expansion. The program’s fate will ultimately be decided by the Republican-controlled legislature, which is likely to meet in a special session this year to vote on it. (Goodnough, 8/19)

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday outlined recommendations for reforms to the state’s Medicaid program similar to what other red states have obtained through Medicaid expansion waivers. And surprisingly, the Republican questioned whether the state needs to run its own Obamacare exchange to implement those changes, raising the possibility that Arkansas could abandon plans to have a state-run marketplace in 2017. (Pradhan, 8/19)

Dr. Don Williamson was direct when asked how to improve Alabama's health. “I would expand Medicaid,” Williamson, the State Health Officer, said at a meeting of the Alabama Health Improvement Task Force Wednesday afternoon. “It’s that simple.” But Williamson, a 20-year veteran of Alabama state government leaving in November to head the Alabama Hospital Association, pointed out after the meeting that the state’s health care politics aren’t simple. ... the comments represented the first time a high-ranking state official, one who worked with Gov. Robert Bentley on changes to Medicaid delivery, openly discussed advantages of opting into the Affordable Care Act’s expansion option. (Lyman, 8/19)

Low-income families who might have waited months for medical assistance last winter are enrolling within weeks under Pennsylvania’s Medicaid expansion, sailing through simplified applications that help them see doctors faster. “People are able to get the care and treatment they need much sooner. Folks are able to get preventive care much sooner,” said Antoinette Kraus, state director at the nonprofit Pennsylvania Health Access Network, which urged policymakers to broaden traditional Medicaid. Still, critics remain cautious whether the expanded program could overburden the state budget. (Smeltz, 8/20)