The Arkansas Democratic Party will focus on having the state rescind Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of Arkansans during the 2024 election cycle, party leaders said at a news conference Tuesday.
Grant Tennille, leader of the Arkansas Democratic Party, told reporters that the state Department of Human Services did not do enough to disqualify people, especially children, from their health insurance before canceling it.
DHS spent six months reviewing the eligibility of Medicaid recipients whose coverage has been extended for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even if income or other eligibility limitations make them ineligible for benefits.
Over 184,500 Data DHS has released monthly since May shows that of the approximately 420,000 Arkansans who maintained coverage during the extension period, starting April 1st, 9 Membership was canceled by the 30th of the month.
More than 184,500 Arkansans were removed from Medicaid in six months during post-pandemic eligibility review
“Before you take health insurance away from your kids, it’s better to know they don’t qualify,” Tennille says. “It shouldn’t be a case of, ‘We couldn’t reach you, so you’re not eligible.'”
The national public health emergency (PHE) enacted at the beginning of the pandemic ended on May 11th. In April, DHS began “undoing” extensions by deregistering customers it deemed ineligible.
Some customers earned too much to qualify for Medicaid, and others asked to disenroll, according to DHS’ monthly data report.
“We are excited to finally rescind the pandemic and the special rules that were in place and now be able to focus on serving Arkansans under normal eligibility operations,” DHS Secretary Christy Putnam said in a statement Tuesday. “There is,” he said.
She also said she is proud of DHS’ efforts to “ensure that our programs serve only those who truly need Medicaid.”
Tennille said this is a “lie” based on the number of deregistrations through the process.
“Anyone who says the only people on the roster are those who really need Medicaid either doesn’t understand the program they’re running or they’re lying to the people of Arkansas. ” Tennille said.
Tennille and House Minority Leader Tippi McCullough, D-Little Rock, are pushing the elected Republicans who control Congress and the executive branch to expand Medicaid coverage to beneficiaries that DHS has not been able to reach. He called for recovery.
“We are already the state with the greatest need for health care, and the policies of the past six months have been to take health care away from the very children who need it most,” McCullough said. “We have to fix that broken system.”
If you think you are still eligible for Medicaid, you can reapply or request more information by: DHS website or DHS surveysaid Gavin Resnick, director of communications for DHS. You can also contact the department’s call center, which remains active after the lifting, by calling 855-372-1084.
support and disability
As of early April, more than 1 million Arkansans, about one-third of the state’s population, were receiving Medicaid benefits. As of Oct. 1, that number was 868,059, Resnick said.
DHS began reaching out to Medicaid customers who benefited from expanded coverage last year before coverage reductions began. As of July 17, 2022, DHS has attempted to call 281,497 people whose coverage was extended through PHE.Through these calls, officials confirmed or updated 39,106 addresses, according to the Arkansas Office of Legal Advocates. Reported in August 2022.
Arkansas health officials prepare patients for Medicaid eligibility review
Medicaid customers can also update their contact information by calling the Update Arkansas hotline at 1-844-872-2660 or by visiting: DHS welfare site.
Resnick said DHS repeatedly called, texted and emailed Medicaid recipients “at various points in the renewal schedule” to try to obtain eligibility information. The agency also tried to reach people through mail, social media, community groups, health care providers serving Medicaid customers and call centers run by DHS officials.
Eligibility for some beneficiaries could potentially be verified using “automated updates that passively check data against existing verification sources rather than requiring beneficiaries to send information back.” Yes, Resnick said.
Putnam’s predecessor, Mark White, said: in November 2022 If a Medicaid customer does not respond to DHS’ requests for information, it will be difficult to determine that customer’s eligibility.
“We don’t have a good way of knowing if these people have lost their eligibility or if they’re just not renewing,” White said.
Community groups in Arkansas have held several protests this year to address Medicaid recipient grievances, and they include more than just relief. The need for broader medical coverage This program reduces complexity in the application process and improves customer service.
Arkansas Medicaid recipients share concerns with federal and state officials
Some Medicaid recipients said they were never notified by DHS that their coverage was in jeopardy until they lost it. Neal Seeley, an organizer with the Arkansas Community Organization, reiterated this at a news conference Tuesday.
In Augustorganizers sent a letter to Daniel Tsai, director of the Centers for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) within the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, asking him to work with Arkansas officials to improve the state’s benefit administration. Ta.
Advocacy groups delivered the letter to the offices of Arkansas’ two U.S. senators, John Boozman and Tom Cotton.
Seeley said Tuesday that neither the senator nor Tsai had responded to the letter.
national concern
Arkansas has received national attention this year for its high number of deregistration procedures. planning it in just 6 monthsAt the request of 2021 State Laws.
Local groups in Arkansas asked DHS in March for a one-year grace period for mitigation, to no avail.
Although each state began its rollback project at a different time, Arkansas is the only state with a plan to complete the project in less than nine months. January 2023 Survey From medical policy researcher KFF.
Arkansas Medicaid recipients seek DHS response to feedback, more time to verify eligibility
Tsai said the “high rate of layoffs” nationwide during the mitigation period is a concern to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services officials. June 14 National Conference Telephone Conference.
Most of the cancellations are due to “procedural reasons, mainly people who didn’t renew,” he said.
In August, Tsai asked several states Although he asked to restore coverage to Medicaid customers who were disenrolled for procedural reasons, Resnick said the request does not apply to Arkansas.
According to one study, Arkansas has one of the highest percentages of rural children eligible for Medicaid in the nation. Georgetown University Research Published in August.
About 35% of Medicaid customers disenrolled in Arkansas from April to July were children. According to the data Collected by KFF.
McCullough noted that state officials could find and contact many Medicaid customers through local schools if the customers have school-age children.
A 2014 state law requires DHS to apply for or receive funds, including federal funds, “for advertising, promotion, or other activities intended to promote or encourage enrollment” in state-run health insurance programs. is prohibited.
Tennille called the law a poor policy choice. He added that the loss of Medicaid coverage for eligible people would have ripple effects on education, the economy and public safety.
“If we don’t treat them when they’re sick, or if we don’t provide them with preventive care when they’re young, it’s going to end up costing them a lot of money.” [the state] “It’s millions of dollars more than we spend on Medicaid,” he said.
