First day of bill filing at the capitol for the 2025 legislative session; both parties want to increase postpartum Medicaid coverage

Little Rock, Arkansas – A few proposals from both parties began Wednesday’s first day of bill filing for state lawmakers, and as the day went on, the number of bills increased.

The first to file was state representative Aaron Pilkington (R-Knoxville), who claims that if approved through the ARHomes private Medicaid model or conventional fee-for-service, it would enroll pregnant women in a 12-month Medicaid expansion.

Pilkington went on to say that he hopes the second traditional route option will cover any women who have not successfully shifted to their new plan, as state officials found out during the most recent legislative session. There, lawmakers discovered that almost 30% of uninsured women required coverage.

At a news conference on Tuesday, House Democrats unveiled their 2025 legislative agenda, which includes a bill to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage to that 12-month mark.

Pilkington stated, “I have been working on this bill for the past two years since session.” “I wanted to get in and be the first to let people know that, as the Republican supermajority, this is a priority for us and that we will push this and take care of our moms on the first day of filing.”
Similar to Pilkington’s bill, House Minority Leader Andrew Collins (D-Little Rock) also submitted one on Wednesday.

According to Collins, his bill gives the Department of Human Services a little more latitude, but both programs would be applicable to the same groups: ARHome and standard Medicaid.

“I hope to see a common interest and effort from both parties regarding major issues like this one,” Collins said at a press conference on Tuesday, inviting state Republican lawmakers to collaborate with Democrats on their goals during this session.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Arkansas is the only state that has not expanded Medicaid to include coverage for 12 months after giving birth after Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders rejected the proposal.

Collins filed 15 of the 22 measures that have been filed so far Wednesday night, covering topics like as the voucher program, the necessity of expanding Medicaid for new mothers, and Arkansas’s present abortion restriction.

The “Restore Roe Act” is the name of the measure that addresses the abortion ban. In support of victims of rape and incest, House Democrats announced during a press conference on Tuesday that they want to try to abolish the restriction.