LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Lawmakers returned to the capitol this week to review proposed rule changes aimed at implementing one of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ top priorities: the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act.

The law, signed earlier this year as Act 124 , targets Arkansas’s high rate of high-risk pregnancies and maternal health challenges.

Passing the legislation was just the beginning. Now, the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) is working to put the law into practice.

“Every woman and child that doesn’t end up sick or dead because of what we do here is a win in my mind,” a DHS official said during testimony Wednesday.

According to DHS, approximately 32,000 to 35,000 births occur annually in Arkansas. Historically, Medicaid has covered 48% to 50% of those births. With that l

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