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Legislators Press DHS on Medicaid ‘Passes’ After Rocky Rollout; DHS Offers Operational Fixes and Extensions
Summary
At a joint Senate–House hearing, the Arkansas Department of Human Services detailed steps to fix payment and enrollment problems in the Medicaid managed-care rollout, including compliance notices to plans and a commitment to honor prior authorizations through Sept. 1; lawmakers pressed DHS on capacity, readiness reviews and provider outreach.
The joint Senate and House committee on State Agencies heard a lengthy DHS update on problems tied to the March 1 rollout of managed-care "passes," with legislators pressing the agency to resolve provider payment delays, enrollment backlogs and assessment bottlenecks.
DHS Director Cindy Gillespie and senior staff said the agency has sent compliance notices to the managed-care entities and pharmacy benefit managers to ensure pharmacies are paid on the same timetable as other providers. Deputy Director Paula Stone told the committee that DHS reminded plans of contract timetables—"70% of all clean claims within 7 days, 95% within 30 days, and 99% within 60 days"—and asked plans to provide additional monthly performance detail.
DHS also extended several operational protections to limit disruption while…
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