According to the latest information released by the Department of Human Services today, 192,210 Arkansans have gained coverage via the private option, the state’s unique version of Medicaid expansion which uses Medicaid funds to purchase private insurance for low-income Arkansans. This includes both beneficiaries enrolling in a private plan and those deemed medically needy and routed to the traditional Medicaid program (around 11 percent of the total). County by county enrollment map above. 

Here’s the demographic breakdown for beneficiaries: 

Gender
59 percent women, 41 percent men 

Age
19-25: 19 percent 
26-34: 25 percent
35-44: 21 percent
45-54: 20 percent
55-64: 15 percent

Advertisement

* This continues the pattern of private option beneficiaries being significantly younger than the rest of enrollees on the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace, good news for the risk pool in the Marketplace as a whole. 

Income
82 percent are below the poverty line, 18 percent make between 100-138 percent of the federal poverty level. 

Advertisement