Less care, low costs
Arkansas invites small employers to sign up their uninsured workers for no-frills health care at an affordable price.
by Michelle Andrews, FORTUNE Small Business Magazine contributor

(FORTUNE Small Business Magazine) - For another approach to easing small companies' health-care burdens, look to Arkansas. Governor Mike Huckabee is launching a new program that will offer limited health benefits to low-income employees - six doctor visits, two emergency-room or outpatient hospital visits, and seven days in the hospital every year, plus two prescription drugs a month - for monthly premiums of either $15 or $100, depending on the patient's income. This approach will test the appetite for cheaper, bare-bones health benefits; officials of a few other states have already inquired about it.

The initiative, funded in part by Medicaid, is aimed at Arkansas's 80,000 uninsured workers, most of whom labor for small companies. To promote wider coverage, employers joining the program must sign up all their workers. The launch date is not yet set, but Huckabee spokesman Jim Harris says the plan - which required no state legislation - will begin signing up companies later this year and is already drawing interest from small employers that want to attract the best workers and keep them healthy: "If you've only got five workers, and one of them is out sick for a week," says Harris, "you're in big trouble."

What proposals are there for small company health-care coverage? Click here to find out.

The new Medicare drug coverage program open enrollment is nearing an end. Find out moreTop of page

To write a note to the editor about this article, click here.

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.

Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.
Manage alerts | What is this?

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.