Arkansas Surgeon General Discusses Health Care Reform

By Yavonda Chase

Bledsoe said the state Legislature’s upcoming vote on Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s revamp of the private option that expanded Medicaid would have a lasting impact on health reform in Arkansas, as well as the state’s budget.

Hutchinson’s plan, called Arkansas Works, builds on the foundation of the private option program, which expanded coverage to thousands of Arkansans, while addressing issues to make the plan fiscally sustainable, said Bledsoe.

The proposal includes encouraging employees to remain on employer-based insurance rather than enrolling in Medicaid, incentivizing work through training referrals and possibly requiring premium payments for some recipients.

Hutchinson is not insinuating that people on Medicaid don’t want to work, Bledsoe said, adding that the governor realizes there are “places and communities within the state where people can’t get jobs.”

“What he does feel very strong about is he wants the program to be something that provides a hand up to people, and that we’re doing everything we can as a state to push people toward greater skills and greater opportunities and helping them get the referrals and training that they need,” said Bledsoe.

He added that the governor is determined to address Medicaid as a whole, not just the private option, with the reforms he has proposed, which include strengthening the program’s integrity by making it more efficient and more responsive to the people.

Bledsoe said the state’s 2017 budget changes dramatically if Arkansas Works doesn’t pass.

“No matter where you stand on these issues, there is a lot of federal money coming in at an increased rate based on the Affordable Care Act and the match,” he said. “If you say, ‘OK, we don’t want that for whatever reason,’ then you have to make allowances for cuts and other changes to the state budget to make up for the loss of dollars.”

Bledsoe said he isn’t surprised that debate continues over the Affordable Care Act, which he described as an incredibly complex piece of legislation that will take years to measure the effectiveness of all of its parts.

“This was an overhaul of the health care system in the United States,” he said. “I think there is going to be a discussion over this issue that goes on for many more years and many more elections.”

Jyric Sims, M.P.H., (right) receives an outstanding alumnus award for the Master of Health Administration program from MHA Alumni Association President Mike Perkins (left) and Richard Ault, M.H.S.A., MHA program director.

Jyric Sims, M.H.S.A, (right) receives an outstanding alumnus award for the Master of Health Administration program from MHA Alumni Association President Mike Perkins (left) and Richard Ault, M.H.S.A., MHA program director.

Approximately 65 people attended the association’s luncheon celebrating the 35-year-old program. First established at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as the Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA) degree program, it moved to UAMS’ Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health in 2005. The program’s name was changed to Master of Health Administration (MHA) in 2015.

Richard Ault, M.H.S.A., director of the MHA program, presented the Outstanding Alumni Award to Jyric Sims, M.H.S.A, a 2007 graduate.

“Jyric is one of our program’s most distinguished young graduates who has represented our program with distinction,” said Ault. “To be the chief operating officer of a major health system at this stage of his career is a remarkable achievement.”

For the first time, the recipient was nominated and chosen by former winners of the award, Ault said.

Sims is the senior vice president and chief operating officer of Tulane Health System in New Orleans. Before joining Tulane Health System, Sims served as vice president and chief operating officer of HCA St. Lucie Medical Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida; associate chief operation officer and ethics and compliance officer at HCA Clear Lake Regional Medical Center in Webster, Texas; and director of regional and international operations of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he was also an administrative fellow.

“I’m humbled and honored at the same time,” Sims said, joking that when he first received the email about the award, he thought Ault had contacted the wrong Jyric, before concluding that the unusualness of his first name made that highly unlikely.

“I am so blessed and fortunate to have lived, trained and mentored at UAMS. Without the rigorous academic and practical learnings, along with friendships developed, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It’s at UAMS that I learned health care is a people and service business. I am so lucky to be operating in my passion and to have the ability to serve our nearly 2,000 employees, physicians and most importantly, patients,” he said.

Ault also announced a new scholarship for MHA students. The Dr. John Baker MHA Scholarship recognizes the program’s founder and long-time professor, John Baker, M.B.A., Ph.D.

The team of Baker, Andreas Muller, Ph.D., and John Wayne, Ph.D., was responsible for training most of the program’s nearly 400 graduates, Ault said.