Party lists Medicaid demands
Democrats say eligibility redetermination process broken
The Democratic Party of Arkansas on Tuesday released a list of demands to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in response to the state’s Medicaid redetermination process that has led to tens of thousands of Arkansans losing coverage over the past six months.
The party’s demands are:
■ To keep open all Medicaid cases for those with whom the government failed to connect.
■ To prevent automatic deductions in Social Security payments for seniors who relied on Medicaid to cover their Medicare Part B premiums and had their coverage revoked.
■ To equip the state Department of Human Services with the means to engage Arkansans to adequately determine their eligibility for Medicaid, such as by using Medicaid patient navigators.
The release of the demands came a day after DHS said it had completed eligibility redeterminations on Medicaid beneficiaries whose coverage was extended due to special rules that were in effect during the federal government’s covid-19 public health emergency.
On Tuesday, DHS spokesman Gavin Lesnick said Arkansas’ total Medicaid enrollment was 868,059 on Oct. 1.
That was down by 257,000 from the figure on April 1, when normal eligibility rules resumed.
In a news release Tuesday, the state Democratic party said DHS figures show 427,000 Arkansans, including 147,000 children, have had their health coverage interrupted or terminated at some point during the past six months.
“Some of those have been re-enrolled, but as I think a lot of people around this room know, it’s the interruption itself,” Grant Tennille, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said at the news conference at the party headquarters in Little Rock.
For many people, “it’s not just an inconvenience. It can delay or terminate necessary medical procedures, and these are people’s lives that we’re gambling with here,” Tennille said.
Of the Arkansans who have had their Medicaid coverage terminated, a majority were disenrolled because they failed to return paperwork or respond to a phone call, according to Tennille.
“No determination as to their eligibility for medical purposes was ever made. So to say the only people left on the rolls are those who truly need Medicaid — you either don’t understand the program you run, or you’re lying to the people of Arkansas,” Tennille said.
Previously, the group Arkansas Community Organizations has recommended that DHS hire outreach workers, known as navigators, to meet beneficiaries in their communities instead of relying on mail or email, organizer Neil Sealy said.
In its news release, the state Democratic Party said Arkansas lawmakers have limited
DHS’ ability to hire navigators.
“In the 2014 Fiscal Session, the Arkansas Legislature restricted DHS from using navigator program funding ‘for the purpose of advertisement, promotion, or other activities designed to promote or encourage enrollment in the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace or the Health Care Independence Program.’ Additionally, the law prevented the Department of Human Services from applying for or accepting ‘any funds including without limitation federal funds’ to assist Arkansans for coverage in either healthcare program. Additionally, the law prevented the Department of Human Services from applying for or accepting ‘any funds including without limitation federal funds’ to assist Arkansans for coverage in either healthcare program,” the party said in the release.
Tennille said Arkansans’ losing their coverage impacts not only individuals but also rural hospitals around the state.
“Because there are just not enough paying customers left in the area to keep these people there and working,” he said.
“It is time for the Republicans in the Legislature and this governor to step up to the task of fixing what they’ve broken, because leaving it broken impairs Arkansas’ economy, impairs health care for all of us in Arkansas … It’s just about the worst idea of the many bad ideas they’ve had,” Tennille said.
House Minority Leader Tippi McCullough, D-Little Rock, said 65% of children in rural areas of Arkansas are enrolled in Medicaid, which is higher than in any other state, she said.
“We’re already the highest-need state, and our policy for the past six months has been to strip the very children in most need of health care. We have to fix that broken system,” McCullough said.
The state’s rate of disenrollments is also among the highest in the country, with 21,630 people having their cases closed in the last month for failure to return renewal forms, she said.
“People are showing up in waiting rooms to see a doctor, and they’re being told that they can’t receive care, and the state’s response is: Too bad. Check your mail. Look for your denial letter,” she added.
Sanders spokeswoman Alexa Henning didn’t respond Tuesday to a request for comment on the Democrats’ demands.
Lesnick said the Democrats’
“take on the state’s successful Medicaid unwinding is a gross mischaracterization of the extensive efforts DHS has made to ensure beneficiaries were ready and prepared for this process, and it has zero basis in reality.”
“Throughout this process, we have reached out to beneficiaries by mail, phone, email, and text, made staff available through a call center dedicated to this effort, partnered with community organizations across the state, placed paid advertisements, engaged physicians, providers, and other stakeholders, and much more,” Lesnick said in an email.
“And though we released our comprehensive unwinding plan and publicly updated our progress each month during the unwinding, we didn’t hear a word from Arkansas Democrats until today. They could have helped get the word out; instead, they choose to present a factually inaccurate picture now that the unwinding is done that does nothing but malign the many hardworking frontline staff who truly care about helping eligible beneficiaries maintain coverage,” he said.
Ly is a Report for America Corps member.