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Follow along with us as we keep you connected to what's going on in Arkansas' legislature.

DHS presents Medicaid work requirement to Legislative Black Caucus

Carlos Bonilla
/
Little Rock Public Radio

Arkansas legislators questioned Department of Human Services (DHS) officials about the state’s plan to implement a Medicaid work requirement Monday.

DHS Secretary Kristi Putnam told members of the Legislative Black Caucus the department is submitting a waiver to the federal government to implement “work and community service” requirements for able-bodied adults enrolled in the state’s Medicaid expansion program, Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me (ArHOMe).

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters in January her intent to implement the requirement. Arkansas previously enacted a work requirement in 2018 under then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Over 18,000 people lost Medicaid coverage as a result of that plan, which was ultimately halted by the courts.

Putnam said this iteration, called the “Pathway to Prosperity” amendment, will not prescribe work hours for Medicaid recipients to meet. Instead, she said, the program will require people to create a “personal development plan.”

“Previous requirements had a certain number of hours. We don’t necessarily believe that that is the right approach, because sometimes you may have someone who needs to be home caring for dependent children or maybe working on some sort of short-term certification to be able to progress.”

Putnam said the intent is not to just tell people to “go get a job,” but rather create a plan to build a career.

“It is tied to maintaining to active benefits, but it does not make them ineligible for Medicaid whereas previously it did terminate their eligibility and they would have to reapply,” Putnam said.

Putnam added recipients will receive “success coaching” through already-existing workforce programs.

“The fundamental goal is really to assist individuals in moving from needing support to being in a place where they may not need so much support,” Putnam said.

Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus at a meeting in February 2025.
Carlos Bonilla
/
Little Rock Public Radio
Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus at a meeting in February 2025.

State Medicaid Director Janet Mann said the department will also increase efforts to contact recipients at risk of losing their benefits. Mann said the department will try to reach people through text, email, phone, mail, and in-person.

Sen. Fredrick Love, D-Little Rock, told the DHS officials he wanted to ensure the state has the capacity to roll out the new plan. He asked how many people would be impacted.

Mann said the department does not have a current estimate for how many people could participate in the program. In response to another question from Sen. Love, Mann began to list a swath of organizations that could provide success coaching to Medicaid recipients.

“I think the limits of who is available to help through this system is only limited by what we all can build together as far as who is a part of this,” Mann said. “Think adult education, think our Goodwills, think of all the community health workers and partners that exist–different points of contact so that there truly is no place where someone would go where there wasn’t someone available to connect with them and help through success coaching, connect them to the resources that exists in their neighborhoods.”

Mann said the department wants to hear more input from the public and community partners before estimating how many people would be impacted by the changes. Putnam and Mann offered to return to the panel with more data in future weeks.

Putnam gave future negotiations with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) as a reason for not providing estimates, saying the negotiations can take anywhere from six to nine months and will impact the resulting model.

Mann said the Department of Human Services publicly said the new program would begin Jan. 1, 2026, but noted that date is also dependent on the negotiation process.

The waiver is currently open for public comment. The department will host a virtual hearing Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025 at 10:30 a.m., and a hybrid hearing on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 at 10 a.m. at the Department of Human Services, Donaghey Plaza South Building, 700 Main Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203, First Floor Conference Room A/B.

Copyright 2025 KUAR

Maggie Ryan
Formally KUAR, news from the staff of content partners Little Rock Public Radio at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. They are a NPR member station.