Arkansas purges 427K from Medicaid after post-pandemic eligibility review

LITTLE ROCK — More than 427,000 Arkansas residents were dropped from Medicaid in the past six months, as the state became among the first nationally to complete a post-pandemic eligibility review of the government-funded health care program for lower-income residents.

The state ended coverage for more than half of those whose cases were reviewed during the period — a removal rate that raised concerns Tuesday among some health care advocates even as the Republican-led administration defended its efficiency in shrinking the Medicaid rolls.

“Arkansas has distinguished itself by moving very rapidly to kick families off coverage, regardless of whether they are still eligible,” said Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

During the coronavirus pandemic, states were prohibited from removing people from Medicaid in exchange for receiving enhanced federal funding. That moratorium ended in April, and states were required to resume annual eligibility reviews for participants. During the freeze, Medicaid enrollment swelled by nearly one-third nationally, from 71 million people in February 2020 to 94 million in April 2023.

States have 14 months to finish their backlog of eligibility reviews, according to guidelines from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But a 2021 Arkansas law required the state to complete the task in six months.

Arkansas Department of Human Services Secretary Kristi Putnam said she was proud of the staff’s speedy work “to ensure that our program is serving only those who truly need Medicaid.”

“I’m excited to finally put the pandemic and the special rules that had been in place behind us, so we can focus on serving Arkansans under normal eligibility operations going forward,” Putnam said in a statement Monday.

Arkansas’ percentage decline in children covered by Medicaid ranks among the largest in the nation, Alker said.