DHS outlines Medicaid coverage, delivery and work-requirement timeline

Department of Human Services Secretary Janet Mann told the Medicaid subcommittee that Arkansas’ Medicaid program covers roughly 1 in 3 Arkansans (about 850,000 people) and uses a mix of fee‑for‑service, managed care organizations and a premium‑assistance model for the expansion population.

"Medicaid provides health care coverage to low income adults, children, age blind and disabled," Mann said. She described Arkansas’ delivery system as primarily fee‑for‑service for core populations, a smaller managed‑care program for complex cases, and the state’s unique premium‑assistance approach for the expansion group (Group 8), noting that Arkansas purchases silver‑level private insurance for those enrollees.

Mann outlined program scale and budget details: about half of births in the state are covered by Medicaid; behavioral health accounts for a significant share of services; the state has nearly 118,000 Medicaid providers; and the agency expects an SFY26 Medicaid budget of approximately $9.7 billion, including a pharmacy category Mann said is about $473 million annually.

On program changes, Mann said state plan amendments and waiver requests differ in scope and retroactivity and explained a phased schedule for new community‑engagement/work requirements for the expansion population. She said the program would "launch softly" on July 1 with education and no punitive action, and that by Jan. 1 the policy would require new applicants to meet a period of community engagement and redeterminations for expansion enrollees would occur every six months.

Committee members requested the slide packet and supplemental materials; DHS staff confirmed slides had been provided and offered to resend materials by email. No formal actions or policy votes were taken during the meeting.