About Hope for America

The Hope for America Political Action Committee (HAPAC) created by Governor Huckabee allows the governor to support political candidates across the United States who share his commitment to social and fiscal conservative principles while working to create a healthier lifestyle for all of us. This country is facing a staggering health crisis with the cost of Medicaid and the cost of private health insurance growing at rates that simply can't be sustained. Overweight, sedentary lifestyles are costing this country billions of dollars.  These costs can be reduced or eliminated if Americans become more aggressive about good health.

Working with the National Governors Association, Governor Huckabee is building a program that will attempt to reduce juvenile and adult obesity rates, increase juvenile and adult exercise rates, and reduce juvenile and adult tobacco usage rates.

Governor Huckabee has worked for years to create a healthier population in Arkansas. The following are the specific policy and programmatic steps that have been taken in Arkansas that Governor Huckabee hopes to see implemented in other states:

• Arkansas is the only state that has used every federal tobacco dollar ever received for health programs and issues. No tobacco money has been channeled to other government programs.

• Arkansas reduced the number of uninsured children in the state from 20% to 10% since the roll out of the innovative ARKids First program in 1997

• In August of 2005 Arkansas merged the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Department of Human Services. This merger of the fiscal resources of Medicaid with the states finest health experts has better positioned the state to deal with a broad range of health issues. From hurricane relief to obesity, the more fiscally efficient department can respond to any health crisis much faster.

• Arkansas banned vending machines in all elementary schools. At the junior and senior high level access to machines was reduced and it is mandatory 50% of the items in the machines be healthy options.

• Arkansas has a program offering state employees and their spouses a $240 annual cost reduction in health insurance if they go to a web site and take an on line health self assessment. The collected data is used to better evaluate the overall health of our workers.

• Arkansas was the first state in the country to pass a law to make it mandatory that the Body Mass Index of every school child be measured annually.

• Arkansas is seeking USDA approval to take data gained from the statewide BMI project and overlay it with the Medicaid and food stamp enrollment list. This would be a first of a kind research project enabling a true definition of the relationship between family income and family health.

• Arkansas made smoking cessation tools available to both state employees and the Medicaid population at no cost.

• Arkansas eliminated virtually all financial barriers to state employees having early evaluation procedures such as annual mammograms.

• Arkansas created an award to give to Healthy Arkansas restaurants. The tiered award recognizes restaurants that have gone no smoking and that are stepping up the effort to give nutritional information to customers.

• Arkansas developed local Healthy Arkansas plans in all 75 counties, using a standard format and list of best practices targeting children in schools, adults in work sites and the aging population. These plans are now being implemented.

• Working in partnership with the Eli Lilly Company, Arkansas created an innovative program to get better disease management information to diagnosed diabetics. This program improved quality of life and reduced Medicaid costs for this population.

• Arkansas created a Healthy Arkansas web site that for the first time ever can show anyone where every walking trail in the state is located allows a user to easily find all of the facilities and programs in any county offering help to an individual as they seek to exercise, eat right, and not smoke.

• Working with Radio Disney the state created a program reminding families children should eat five fruits and vegetables a day and get five bursts of energy a day.

• With corporate underwriting from the Gerber Products Company Governor Huckabee produced a comprehensive Health Guide available to families across the state. This book offers information on topics ranging from heart disease to breast cancer to diabetes to immunizations. A radio and television campaign has been produced to urge families to get a copy of the book.

• In April of 2006, Governor Huckabee signed into law the Arkansas Indoor Clean Air Act, banning smoking in virtually all indoor workplaces in Arkansas. The law includes all restaurants and bars unless the facility specifically bans individuals under the age of 21 from entering the premises for any reason.