Activists continue to call for changes to Arkansas Medicaid, allege unfair losses of coverage

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Arkansas Medicaid recipients and advocates repeated their ongoing messages that the state Department of Human Services should provide broader Medicaid coverage and process applications more efficiently at a Tuesday demonstration outside DHS’ Jefferson County office.

Arkansas Community Organizations, the group behind the protest, has continually emphasized the benefits of the federally-funded health insurance program and the struggles low-income Arkansans face when they cannot afford health care or get on Medicaid quickly. On Tuesday, the group added a new message: that DHS employees are overworked and under-supported.

“When you walk into DHS, prepare to take a number and sit for a long time,” Medicaid recipient William Gerard said. “There might be two workers at four windows and not enough [support] to serve their caseload.”

Activists continue to call for changes to Arkansas Medicaid, allege unfair losses of coverage

Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate

Organizers with Arkansas Community Organizations hold up signs advocating for better Medicaid coverage outside Jefferson County’s Department of Human Services office in Pine Bluff on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.

DHS to end Medicaid managed care dental program, return to fee-for-service

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) announced Monday (June 3) that it will end its Medicaid managed care dental program and return beneficiaries who qualify for dental coverage to the Medicaid fee-for-service program beginning later this year.

DHS expects to launch this program on Nov. 1, 2024, and efforts to support this change are being prioritized immediately, it said.

The dental managed care program within Arkansas Medicaid has been in effect since Jan. 1, 2018, and as of this month serves 572,047 beneficiaries.

DHS to end Medicaid managed care dental program, return to fee-for-service

State of the State 2024: Arkansas health care faces challenges

by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

Editor’s note: The State of the State series provides reports twice a year on Arkansas’ key economic sectors. The series publishes stories to begin a year and stories in July/August to provide a broad mid-year update on the state’s economy. Link here for the State of the State page and previous stories.

With Arkansas’ Medicaid system still rebalancing after the COVID pandemic and Arkansans ranking near the bottom in health metrics, the state of the state’s health care is challenging.

One of the biggest health-related stories this past year has been Arkansas’ “unwinding” of its Medicaid rolls. During the COVID pandemic, the federal government provided extra money to states provided that they didn’t disenroll recipients throughout the emergency. That restriction ended April 1. While most states opted to abide by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ 14-month-time frame, Arkansas law accelerated its redetermination process over a six-month period.

State of the State 2024: Arkansas health care faces challenges

Arkansas' Medicaid rolls reduced by 82,279 in July; total disenrolled more than 300,000

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Arkansas’ Medicaid rolls fell by more than 82,000 in July, according to new figures released by the state Department of Human Services.

Arkansas is unwinding, or redetermining, Medicaid eligibility for patients as part of the ending of the federal COVID-19 pandemic. There was a continuous enrollment requirement during the crisis that prevented DHS from removing most ineligible individuals from Medicaid. State law requires the unwinding process be completed in six months.

In its fourth month of redetermination, DHS officials said 82,279 Arkansans had their Medicaid cases closed – a number that includes those added to the rolls during the public health emergency and regular renewals. In July, more than 50,000 cases were renewed after eligibility was confirmed, DHS said.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/08/medicaid-rolls-reduced-by-82279-in-july-total-disenrolled-more-than-300000/