LITTLE ROCK, AR – The latest numbers are in for how many Arkansans have signed up for health insurance coverage under the Private Option.
The Arkansas Department of Human Services reports today that as of September 30, there were 211,611 on the rolls. Of those, 204,811 have completed enrollment into private insurance plans or Medicaid.
The numbers include 22,372 people listed as “medically frail,” who are determined to be better served by the traditional Medicaid program because of exceptional health care needs.
Coverage under the Private Option (formally known as the Health Care Independence Program) began Jan. 1.
The private option is the state’s unique plan that uses Medicaid funds to buy private health insurance for low income Arkansans. The plan is credited with helping cut the rate of the uninsured in Arkansas by as much as 50 percent.
The 10 counties with the highest enrollment are:
- Pulaski County with 28,409
- Washington County with 10,813
- Benton County with 9,442
- Garland County with 8,375
- Sebastian County with 7,680
- Craighead County with 7,236
- Jefferson County with 7,025
- Faulkner County with 6,873
- White County with 5,523
- Crittenden County with 5,487
See the attachment above for a look at the numbers in the rest of the state.