The 80 percenters

STRANGE little item in the paper the other day—and of all topics, it had to do with health care and health insurance. Not the most usual topic for a head-scratcher. But it was a puzzle.

According to the state of Arkansas, those enrolled in Arkansas Works, and who don’t catch up on their unpaid premiums soon, might have those premiums withheld from their state tax refunds next year.

So far, so governmental and bureaucratic.

But then this: The state says people making between 100 and 138 percent of the poverty line must pay $13 a month to participate in this particular health-care program.

More than 62,000 people who signed up are required to pay the (very low) premium for their health-care insurance this year. Of those 62,000, only about 20 percent pay the thirteen bucks regularly.

What are the rest of us supposed to learn from this?

It’s a baffling stat. Are people in this lower income bracket either (1) not really concerned with health care or have little appreciation for the coverage, or (2) don’t want that coverage unless it’s completely free? Maybe it’s (3), that they signed up for the cheap coverage, but when it came time to pay, they decided to spend the $13 elsewhere.

Thirteen dollars doesn’t price anybody out. Two people can spend that much on two value deals at a fast-food joint. Baffling.

And, even more, telling.

But what it tells is still up for debate.