LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Farm Bureau has announced support for Arkansas Works, the governor’s proposed revision to the use of federal Medicaid reserves to fund insurance coverage for eligible participants.

The board of directors for the state’s largest agricultural advocacy organization met Tuesday to evaluate its grassroots policy and determined that defunding Arkansas Works is too large a threat to the state’s budget and rural health care providers.

 “Arkansas Works is the best path forward for the state’s fiscal well-being and our rural communities,” said Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach, a cotton and soybean farmer from Manila (Mississippi County). “We approached this position with an open mind and open hearts. Our members need secure rural health care providers and a sound state budget. Those tenants compel us to support Arkansas Works.”

Arkansas Farm Bureau policy positions are defined by a grassroots structure that provides direction from members active within each county Farm Bureau. Those policy positions then move through a statewide resolutions process before being voted on annually at the organization’s state convention.

“Failure to pass the Department of Human Services budget that includes Arkansas Works funding has broad budget implications,” Veach said. “We looked most keenly at the impact to rural hospitals, the impact to our state’s economic bedrock and the communities that support our farmers and ranchers.

“As an example, the Public School fund would take a $31 million hit and the state’s institutions of higher education would see losses across the board. Specific to agriculture, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, which provides research and outreach to help keep our industry competitive, would lose almost $2 million in funding. And the Arkansas Agriculture Department’s already limited budget would be cut by more than $500,000.

“Our rural hospitals – many of them financially vulnerable now – would be thrown into very challenging financial position because of decreased payment rates. Almost 30 percent of our state’s counties do not have a hospital now, and we fear that number could grow without the funding associated with Arkansas Works.”

Arkansas Farm Bureau is a nonprofit, private advocacy organization of more than 190,000 families throughout the state working to improve farm and rural life.