State Information: Arkansas
This state-specific page on Arkansas provides new materials published by Families USA, key health contacts, state government links, news and views from the state, and other resources that might be helpful to Arkansas advocates. Click on the buttons above to view the information you are interested in. Click on the links below to view the information you are interested in.
Key Health Contacts
Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families
Union Station, Suite 306
1400 West Markham
Little Rock, AR 72201-5707
501-371-9678
Fax: 501-371-9681
Email: aacf@aradvocates.org
Website: www.aradvocates.org
Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families is an independent, statewide, nonprofit, child advocacy organization that conducts research and provides information to the media, lawmakers, and the public about issues concerning children and their families.
Arkansas Community Organizations
2101 S. Main Street
Little Rock, AR 72206
Phone: 501-376-7151
Arkansas Interfaith Alliance
5009 Candlewick Lane
North Little Rock, AR 72116
Arkansas Healthy Aging Coalition
2017 S. Arch Street
Little Rock, AR 72206
Phone: 501-682-8510
Fax: 501-661-2055
Website: http://www.healthyarkansas.com/healthy_aging/coalition.html
The Arkansas Healthy Aging Coalition was started in June 2002 to combine older adult issues into one focal point. The coalition allows people and organizations interested in aging to more effectively target health promotion and disease prevention efforts for Arkansans age 50 and over. Their mission is to promote health, wellness and disease prevention in Arkansans age 50 and over.
SEIU Local 100
2101 Main St.
Little Rock, AR 72206-1527
Phone: 501-376-0255
Fax: 501-376-2423
Email: lr@seiu100.org
Website: http://www.seiu100.org/index.php?id=393
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State Government Links
State of Arkansas Website
State Department of Insurance Website
ARKids First is the Arkansas State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Contact numbers of Medicare and Medicare+Choice
The state Medicaid page contains more information on:
The Medicaid Customer Assistance line, which handles Medicaid eligibility and general issues, can be reached at 1-800-482-8988.
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Other Resources
Worry No More: Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions Are Protected by the Health Care Law provides estimates of how many people will be protected from discrimination based on their health status thanks to the health care law. For the first time, the state reports include county-level data, and they include state-level data that are broken down by age, income, and racial or ethnic group. (July-August 2012) [Families USA]
Being a Woman Just Got a Little Easier: How the Affordable Care Act Benefits Women outlines what women stand to gain under the Affordable Care Act. (July 2012) [Families USA]
Dying for Coverage: The Deadly Consequences of Being Uninsured estimates the number of Americans who are dying prematurely due to lack of health coverage. It includes state-level data that are broken down by week, month, and year that were generated using the methodology originally developed by the Institute of Medicine. (June 2012) [Families USA]
Decoding Your Health Insurance: The New Summary of Benefits and Coverage provides national and state-level data on the nearly 173.5 million people with private insurance who will be helped by these plain-language summaries that are required by the health care law. (May 2012) [Families USA]
Good Business Sense: The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit in the Affordable Care Act provides national and state-level estimates of the number of small businesses that will be eligible for this tax credit and of how much the credits will be worth. It also includes data on how many workers could benefit as a result, broken down according to racial and ethnic group. (May 2012) [Families USA and Small Business Majority]
Medicaid's Impact in the States: Helping People with Serious Health Care Needs examines how vital Medicaid is for residents with cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease, or heart disease or stroke. For these people, Medicaid can be the difference between life and death, and program cuts would put them at risk. Released in partnership with three other groups. (September 2011) [Families USA]
Jobs at Risk: Federal Medicaid Cuts Would Harm State Economies provides state-level data that show the devastating impact the House Republican budget proposal would have. The proposal's substantial Medicaid cuts would harm program enrollees and their families and lead to a loss of business activity and jobs in all states. | Calculator (June 2011) [Families USA]
Cutting Medicaid in the States: Harming Seniors and People with Disabilities Who Need Long-Term Care provides state-specific numbers on how many people would be affected by cuts to Medicaid long-term care spending, as well as how Medicaid helps families, state workers, and businesses. (May 2011) [Families USA]
House Republicans Propose to Slash Funding for Medicaid, Medicare, and Other Health Coverage Programs takes a closer look at how the recent budget proposal would harm seniors, children, and state economies, including state-specific numbers. (April 2011) [Families USA]
States Are Benefitting from Provisions of the Affordable Care Act lists the number of people in each state who are already benefiting from each of five provisions. The provisions include measures that are helping small businesses provide coverage to their workers, helping seniors get free preventive care, and protecting children with pre-existing conditions. | Table (March 2011) [Families USA]
Protecting Seniors and People with Disabilities: Why It Is Important to Preserve the Maintenance of Effort Requirement in the Affordable Care Act discusses how stripping the maintenance of effort requirement from the ACA will have negative consequences for the many people who depend on Medicaid by allowing states to change eligibility requirements. (February 2011) [Families USA]
Worry Less Spend Less: Out-of-Pocket Spending Caps Protect America's Families examines how the Affordable Care Act will protect insured people from high medical costs through new caps on out-of-pocket spending. It provides state-level estimates of how many residents will have spending that exceeds these caps and by how much, and it looks at how many of those residents work for small businesses. (February 2011) [Families USA]
How Health Reform Helps Communities of Color is a series of state-based fact sheets that discuss how provisions in the Affordable Care Act--both those for the general public and those specifically designed to eliminate health disparities--help communities of color in each state. (September-October 2010) [Families USA]
Lower Taxes, Lower Premiums: The New Health Insurance Tax Credit examines how this tax credit will help both insured and uninsured Americans. It provides data on the number of people eligible, the total dollars available, and on how it will help working families in particular. (September 2010) [Families USA]
A Helping Hand for Small Businesses: Health Insurance Tax Credits analyzes the health reform provision that provides tax credits to small employers to help them buy health coverage for their workers. This report, which was commissioned along with Small Business Majority, provides national and state-level data on the number of small businesses eligible for the credit in 2010, as well as the number eligible for the maximum tax credit. (July 2010) [Families USA]
State-Based Advocacy As a Tool for Expanding Children’s Coverage: Lessons from Site Visits to Six IAC Grantee States presents key findings from six states (AR, CO, IA, OH, TX, WA) that received grants from the Insuring America’s Children: States Leading the Way (IAC) program, which supports state advocates working to expand children’s health coverage in 16 states. The report details effective strategies used by advocates in each state according to the state’s political and economic climate, providing a roadmap for advocates around the country working to expand children’s health coverage. (July 2010) [Center for Studying Health System Change, Mathematica, and the Urban Institute]
Strategic Engagement of Policymakers Is Key to Advancing a Children’s Health Care Coverage Policy Agenda looks at how children’s health advocates in seven states (AR, CO, IA, OH, RI, TX, and WA) established strong relationships with policy makers in order to move their agendas forward. These advocates’ experiences provide useful lessons for other advocates pursuing expansions in health coverage in their state. (July 2010) [Center for Studying Health System Change, Mathematica, and the Urban Institute]
Health Reform: New Opportunities for States to Invest in Home- and Community-Based Services is a series of state-specific fact sheets that explore the new options for states to expand home- and community-based services through the health reform law and the reasons why expanding this type of services is a good idea. (Summer 2010) [Families USA]
Health Reform: Help for Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions discusses how, under health reform, no one will be denied coverage, charged a higher premium, or sold a policy that excludes coverage of essential benefits because of pre-existing conditions. The report presents the number of Americans with diagnosed pre-existing conditions who, absent reform, would be at risk of being denied coverage in the individual insurance market. It breaks down this number by age, income, and race. (May 2010) [Families USA]
How Health Reform Helps the People of Arkansas looks at the many benefits that health reform will bring to the state, including cracking down on insurance company abuses, ending runaway premiums, and providing financial security. (May 2010) [Families USA]
Health Coverage in Arkansas: How Will Health Reform Help? discusses the major gaps in Arkansas's health coverage system and how health reform will address these gaps and help Arkansans, including the insured, the uninsured, people in Medicare, and small businesses. (March 2010) [Families USA]
Lives on the Line: The Deadly Consequences of Delaying Health Reform examines what would happen if Congress fails to pass health reform. Specifically, it provides national and state-level estimates of the number of deaths that would occur due to lack of health coverage if reform doesn't pass. It also quantifies how many Americans died due to lack of health coverage since the last effort to pass reform in 1994. (March 2010) [Families USA]
Guide to Finding Health Coverage: Arkansas Millions of Americans have no health insurance, and finding health insurance can be difficult. If you are looking for coverage, this guide can help point the way. Whether you have recently lost your job, are an early retiree, or have a serious medical condition, this guide includes numerous resources that may help you find the coverage you need. (Updated 2009) [Families USA]
Healthcare Reform Will Help Arkansas's Small Businesses examines how the state's small businesses struggle with high health insurance premiums and how health reform will address this problem, making health insurance more affordable for businesses and individuals. (September 2009) [Small Business Majority]
The Uninsured: A Closer Look–Arkansans without Health Insurance examines how many state residents were uninsured during 2007-2008. The report also takes a closer look at the number of uninsured, who they are, and how long they were uninsured. It mirrors the data in our national report, Americans at Risk: One in Three Uninsured. (April 2009) [Families USA]
Premiums versus Paychecks: A Growing Burden for Arkansas's Workers. The impact of changes in employer-based health insurance premiums and earnings in Arkansas. (September 2008) [Families USA]
Dying for Coverage in Arkansas For the more than 47 million Americans who are uninsured, lack of health insurance can have dire consequences: medical debt, missed care, and even premature death. This first-ever state-specific report examines the number of deaths due to lack of health insurance. (March 2008) [Families USA]
Too Great a Burden: Arkansas's Families at Risk finds that more and more Arkansas families are spending a substantial share of their incomes on health care costs, and most of these families have insurance. Faced with high health care costs and tight budgets, families are turning to credit cards to finance their care, and many are falling into medical debt. (November 2007) [Families USA]
SCHIP Reauthorization: What's at Stake for Arkansas? New state-specific reports show how much money Arkansas could gain from SCHIP Reauthorization and what that money would mean Arkansas' economy. (May 2007) [Families USA]
When an Apple A Day Isn't Enough: Students in Arkansas Speak Out about Health Care contains the winning essays from the "When an Apple a Day Isn't Enough" national essay contest as well as basic information about why health insurance matters for children. [Campaign for Children's Health Care]
Guide to Finding Health Insurance Coverage: Millions of Americans have no health insurance, and finding health insurance can be difficult. If you are looking for coverage, this guide can help point the way. Whether you have recently lost your job, are an early retiree, or have a serious medical condition, this guide includes numerous resources that may help you find the coverage you need. (Updated March 2007) [Families USA]
No Shelter from the Storm: Arkansas's Uninsured Children. This fact sheet takes a closer look at uninsured children in Arkansas—who they are and what kinds of services they miss out on as a result of being uninsured. Written by Families USA for the Campaign for Children's Health Care. (September 2006) [Families USA]
Advocate for Nursing Home Residents is a Web site maintained by an individual advocate. This site offers information for seniors, as well as advocates for senior issues and the families of those who require nursing home care.
Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families works to protect and promote the rights and well-being of Arkansas children and their families through research, education and advocacy.
The Arkansas Medicaid Task Force, a forum of providers and advocates, meets in Little Rock every Tuesday; times and locations vary. Meetings are open to spectators. Contact Tom Shircliff for details.
CareLink, the Central Arkansas Area Agency on Aging, is a private, nonprofit agency offering a wide range of services for older people in central Arkansas as a cost-effective and community-based alternative to nursing home care. The mission of CareLink is to provide services that help older people live as independently as possible in the environment of their choosing.
The mission of the Conway's Child Web site is to provide awareness of resources available in the Faulkner County/Central Arkansas area that will benefit children and families and to serve as a link to national child-centered resources. This compendium of resources covers such topics as parenting, abuse and neglect, and programs for children.
NACHRI, in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), has released 2005 updates of their state-specific Medicaid fact sheets. These fact sheets detail the importance of the Medicaid program to the health care of children in every state, as well as the critical role children's hospitals and pediatricians play in serving all children. Click here for a map that will take you to information specific to your state. (July 2005) [National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI)]
Paying a Premium: The Added Cost of Care for the Uninsured in Arkansas: A fact sheet with state-level data showing the dollar impact on private health insurance premiums of care provided to the uninsured. (June 2005) [Families USA]
Medicaid Cuts Are Bad Medicine: This fact sheet describes how Medicaid helps your state's economy, supports the state's health care infrastructure, provides essential health care to the most vulnerable residents, and reduces the number of uninsured. (January 2005) [Families USA]
The Uninsured: A Closer Look: A fact sheet with state-level data from One in Three: Non-Elderly Americans without Health Insurance, 2002-2003. (June 2004) [Families USA]
Good Medicine for State Economies, 2004 Update: Medicaid provides essential health care services for an estimated 51 million people of all ages and economic classes. Medicaid also plays a unique role in stimulating state economies. This report provides national and state-level data on the effects of Medicaid spending on state business activity, employment, and employee earnings. These updated numbers can be used to predict the economic impact of potential state Medicaid spending increases or cuts in fiscal year 2005.| Medicaid Calculator with updated figures (May 2004) [Families USA]
Who's Uninsured in Arkansas and Why? is a four-page fact sheet providing information on the uninsured population in the state -- their numbers and characteristics and some of the reasons they are uninsured. (November 2003) [Families USA]
Families USA has prepared state fact sheets that spell out the different amounts of help the House and Senate Medicare prescription drug bills would provide to low-income beneficiaries. Click here for this state's fact sheet. [Families USA]
Improving the Quality of Medicaid Personal Assistance through Consumer Direction reports on the initial findings from an ongoing evaluation of the Cash and Counseling demonstration project. In the project, participating Medicaid beneficiaries with disabilities are given an allowance and a high degree of flexibility and freedom to choose personal care assistants. The study found that participants in Arkansas who directed their own supportive services were significantly more satisfied and appeared to get better care than those receiving services through home care agencies. (March 2003) [Health Affairs]
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