Medicaid expansion program

Arkansas was the first Southern state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and the first to use a model that relied on private insurance to do so.

But a recent decision by the Trump administration to not renew the program has created uncertainty for more than 200,000 low-income people receiving health coverage. 

And it’s raised concerns among health providers who have credited the expansion with cutting the state’s uninsured rate and the cost of treating patients without insurance.

Arkansas officials have requested a temporary extension for the program as they try to craft a replacement. 

Here’s a timeline of the expansion: