LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Thousands of people across the country are seeing their health insurance in jeopardy as states remove people from Medicaid coverage.
The requirements to join the plan were expanded during the pandemic, and enrollment surged. Now that the federal government put an end to loosened requirements, states have begun the “unwinding process.”
Results can already be seen across the Mississippi River. After just six months, Arkansas wrapped up its disenrollment process, removing more than 427,000 people from Medicaid, and critics worry this was done too quickly.
“These are people’s lives that we’re gambling with,” said Grant Tennille, Arkansas Democrats Chair.
As of Oct. 10, the Arkansas Department of Human Services said it dropped roughly a third of those on Medicaid who they said were no longer eligible.
Nic Horton with the policy advocacy group Opportunity Arkansas is countering Democrats, saying the move instead creates a more sustainable safety net.
“Every dollar that’s spent on an ineligible Medicaid enrollee, that’s a dollar that can’t go to folks that truly need help,” said Horton.
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office gave the following statement to ABC24:
“President Biden ended the Public Health Emergency requiring ineligible recipients to be removed from Medicaid, Arkansas is complying with state and federal law to remove Medicaid recipients who are no longer eligible for the program and will continue to do so responsibly. Governor Sanders is focused on implementing bold policies that create opportunity for all Arkansans, not a lifetime of government dependency.”
However, Democrats argue this was not done properly, saying DHS did not properly confirm if someone was eligible or not.
“Just last month, 21,630 had their cases closed for failure to return a renewal form,” said Rep. Tippi McCollough, House Minority Leader.
“Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services warned us that this was too fast,” said Camille Richoux, with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.
Richoux and others are now demanding state leaders reinstate those who lost their coverage until they can confirm whether the person is Medicaid eligible.
“Arkansas is one of the top ten poorest states in the nation,” said Richoux. “We can’t suddenly make a large component of our population who are working on low income suddenly have enough money for healthcare coverage.”
If you are in Arkansas and feel you lost Medicaid coverage prematurely, you can contact the Department of Human Services or check out this link for further instructions.
TennCare is in step three of its four-step process of unwinding. To stay updated and see what you may need to do, follow this link for further instructions.