Page 14 - ATR 1 2015 web

News iN Brief, nearly 1,000 Mexico carriers already pointed out that getting rid of the pro-
Continued from page 13 allowed to operate beyond the U.S. bor- gram, which cut Arkansas’s uninsured
der zone. A FMCSA analysis determined rate in half, might save the state some
308,000 jobs in the past 12 months, that those carriers and the 15 pilot par- money, but it would come at an enor-
nearly 10 percent of the overall gain. ticipants operated just as safely as U.S. mous cost to the thousands currently
Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells and Canadian carriers over the life of enrolled in the private option, which
Fargo, says shifts in how Americans the program. was implemented as an alternative to
shop might have given the job market Obamacare.
a temporary lift. Online shopping has arkansas governor Hutchinson introduced a compro-
boosted warehousing, shipping and ProPoses to end Medicaid mise that emerged after negotiations
trucking jobs during the winter shop- exPansion aFter 2016 with legislators following his election in
ping season, Vitner said. Predicted to run $770 million over November. It would create a task force
budget, newly-elected Governor Asa to recommend ways to overhaul the
trucking eMPLoyMent near Hutchinson (R-Ark.) has called for the Medicaid system more broadly.
8-year high state’s “private option” Medicaid expan- “With regard to the private option,
The for-hire trucking industry sion to continue in its current form it is time to close this chapter and start
added 2,400 jobs in January on a sea- only through 2016. a new one,” Hutchinson said. “While
sonally adjusted basis, according to the “This avoids harm to the 200,000- we are turning the page and starting
Department of Labor’s monthly report, plus covered through the private option a new effort, our innovative efforts in
released Feb. 6. It also upwardly revised and assures our hospitals and providers Medicaid reform will continue.”
December’s job gains to 11,900 — up financial stability,” Hutchinson said The private option was championed
from the 7,300. during an address at the University of by Hutchinson’s predecessor Democratic
For-hire trucking employment now Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Governor Mike Beebe who worked with
totals 1.443 million on a seasonally In his statement, Hutchinson also
adjusted basis — up 3.5 percent from 
January 2014’s 1.3947 million. It’s also
up 16.9 percent from March 2010’s bot-
tom from the most recent recession.

u.s. Makes cross-Border
Mexican trucks PerManent
Federal officials are making per-
manent a controversial three-year pilot
program that allows Mexican truckers
to haul goods inside the U.S. beyond
the border zone. FMCSA will soon start
accepting applications from Mexican
truckers who didn’t participate in the
pilot but want the authority to operate
beyond the U.S.-Mexico border region.
The move is likely to be met with
significant backlash from groups repre-
senting independent truckers and labor
interests, who teamed up in 2011 to
unsuccessfully sue DOT in an attempt
to scuttle the program.
Critics maintain that FMCSA didn’t
have enough participants to determine
if it would be safe to make the program
permanent, an assessment with which
the DOT’s Inspector General agreed.
FMCSA maintains the program is
safe, saying the agency’s decision also
took into account safety data from the

14 arkansas trucking rePort | issue 1 2015