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DHS outlines 2020 pandemic response, ARES pilot, Narcan results and plans to expand crisis capacity
Summary
Secretary Cindy Gillespie briefed the committee on DHS—s 2020 accomplishments and near-term plans: ARES pilot launched in five counties, automated background checks and waiver-tracking systems advanced, Narcan Saves program credited with roughly 735 lives saved, and rule changes proposed to expand acute crisis units and adjust Medicaid rates for physicians and personal care workers.
Secretary Cindy Gillespie told the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee that 2020 was an exceptionally active year for the Department of Human Services, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and an urgent need to adapt systems.
Gillespie said DHS reviewed 26 rules in 2020 and had 10 more on the committee agenda, credited numerous partner organizations for rapid pandemic response, and announced the Arkansas Integrated Eligibility and Benefit Management System (ARES) launched a pilot in five counties that day. "That is years in the making," she said, thanking staff and contractors who completed conversions over the weekend as the pilot began.
The secretary highlighted workforce and program developments: more slots for Medicaid waivers (DHS cited earlier additions including 700 slots and a December 1 start for an additional 600), investments in developmental disability centers, automated background checks for childcare and other programs, a waiver-tracking system for aging waivers, and continued building of the behavioral-health system (including crisis stabilization services). She also credited the Narcan Saves program with about 735 lives saved.
DHS staff described related proposed rules and rate changes: a repeal of a non-substantive Medicaid-provider-manual section; replacement manuals for early intervention/day treatment providers; rules to allow hospitals to establish acute crisis units and waive the prior 96-hour ACU limit when medically necessary; a physician-fee increase (an additional 3% on top of a prior 5% increase); and a 13.72% increase in personal-care rates raising the rate to $20.47 an hour. DHS noted attendant-care codes under waivers require CMS approval before payment changes could take effect.
The committee generally praised the ARES pilot and the crisis-unit expansion, asked for more detail on the schedule for rate reviews, and requested maps showing provider locations and beneficiaries to measure whether rate increases improve access. DHS said it will publish the rate-review schedule on its website and continue stakeholder outreach.
DHS—s next procedural steps include further rule reviews, posting the rate-review schedule and executing the ARES rollout plan beyond the pilot counties.
