Arkansas Works

Many Medicaid recipients will soon face new responsibilities

If you are a Texarkana, Ark., resident on Medicaid, you may soon receive a notice in the mail. Starting in May, the Arkansas Works Medicaid program will start sending letters informing recipients of new work requirements that will take effect in July.

The new law requires those ages 19 to 49 to work, attend school or job training/search classes or volunteer for at least 20 hours a week, for a total of 80 hours a month.

In 2018, only those 30 to 49 will be required to comply. Starting in 2019, those 19 to 29 will be phased into the program.

If you get a letter in May, you have to start putting in your hours by July 5. If you get a letter in June, then you have until Aug. 5, and so on. Fail to comply for three months in any one year and you will be thrown off Medicaid for a year.

Those already working at least 80 hours a month and those with dependent children living with them or who care for someone who is incapacitated are exempt from work requirements, as are individuals enrolled in a drug or alcohol treatment program. About 9,100 of the 284,000 Arkansans on Medicaid will be required to report for work or other required activity by July 5. And each month, more will be notified of their new responsibility.

The state is offering free help with job searches as well as various training programs.

Other states have passed work requirements for Medicaid, but Arkansas will be the first state to actually put them into action. That means a lot of eyes will be on the Natural State to see how it goes.

We are hopeful this works out. But passing work requirements and actually finding jobs or spots in training programs for all these folks is something else. Even finding enough volunteer hours for so many folks might prove challenging. But we’ll keep an open mind. We hope Medicaid recipients do as well. Who knows? A parttime gig might lead into something better for the future.