WASHINGTON — Even as its fate remains in limbo in Little Rock, Arkansas’ private option has been the talk of the town as governors gathered here for their annual winter meeting.

WASHINGTON — Even as its fate remains in limbo in Little Rock, Arkansas’ private option has been the talk of the town as governors gathered here for their annual winter meeting.

President Barack Obama pointed to Arkansas as an example for others who have yet to expand Medicaid to lower income families as envisioned under the Affordable Care Act.

"Folks like Mike Beebe in Arkansas have done some terrific work designing programs that are right for their states but also provide access to care for people who need it," Obama told governors at the White House on Monday.

Under the Affordable Care Act, states have the option of expanding Medicaid eligibility to people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — $15,856 for an individual or $32,499 for a family of four. The federal government would foot 100 percent of the bill through 2016 but that support would drop to 90 percent by 2020.

"States that don’t expand Medicaid are going to be leaving up to 5.4 million Americans uninsured. And that doesn’t have to happen. Work with us to get this done," Obama said.

About half the states — most controlled by Democrats — expanded Medicaid to cover those lower income families. Last year, Arkansas became the first state to receive a federal waiver, providing the expanded coverage through the "private option."

The state is using federal Medicaid funds to purchase private insurance for those lower income families. More than 100,000 have already enrolled.

A handful of states, including Utah, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Indiana, that have not expanded Medicaid are looking at options.

Beebe said that he has had private conversations with a number of governors about Arkansas’ experience with getting a waiver during this year’s winter meeting of the National Governors Association. Those asking want to understand the process and the advantages of the private option, he said.

"Some, I don’t think, will ever do it. But more and more are trying to find a way," Beebe said.

Beebe held court for nearly an hour Monday morning at a breakfast newsmaker arranged by Kaiser Health News. Through much of the discussion, he explained that there is broad, bipartisan support for the private option — for pragmatic reasons.

"It’s arithmetic," he said.

The state realized nearly $90 million in budget savings through the private option. It no longer needs to send as much support to hospitals to pay for uncompensated care. And, some Medicaid recipients have shifted to the private option — where the state’s cost share dropped from 30 percent to zero.

That $90 million has been returned to Arkansans in the form of reduced taxes, he said.

The battle over the future of the private option — now taking place in the state House — has more to do with a quirk in the Arkansas constitution requiring a 75 percent majority on appropriations bills, Beebe said.

By most counts, proponents are two votes shy in the House. Another vote is scheduled Tuesday. Beebe expects that lawmakers will eventually agree to fund the private option because otherwise they will need to make draconian cuts to the budget.