ARKANSAS, USA — Hundreds of thousands of Arkansans are no longer covered by Medicaid after the state completed a so-called "unwinding process."
During the six-month unwinding process, DHS checked who was still eligible and who wasn't after President Biden declared an end to the COVID public health emergency.
427,000 Arkansans no longer have Medicaid, the six-month process done by DHS, and that number includes adults and kids.
"We know that somewhere close to 70% of the people who've been terminated were terminated only because they didn't respond to a letter or answer a telephone call," Democratic Party of Arkansas Chair Grant Tennille said. "Determination as to their eligibility for medical purposes was never made."
Tennille wanted to see DHS do more to reach those people.
"When we started AR kids in the first place, I remember how they signed people up," Tennille said. "I have lived through a couple of other Medicaid re-enrollments."
A spokesperson for DHS sent us a statement regarding the process.
"DHS began messaging to beneficiaries more than a year before the end of the public health emergency," DHS said in the statement.
The department added that they contacted people in multiple ways and made staff available through a call center.
"Arkansas has, by some estimates, the highest rate of disenrollment of any state in the entire country," Arkansas State Rep. Tippi McCullough said.
McCullough said this conversation about Medicaid coverage will continue.
"To talk to folks at DHS, but also talk to the constituents out there and find out why these numbers are so big," McCullough said. "They're bigger than they should be."
According to McCullough, this issue could roll over into the next legislative session.
"Medicaid expansion always comes up during our sessions," McCullough said. "I think we've got to continue from now. Until then, doing that work, whether behind the scenes with our colleagues across the aisle or our constituents in the background."
As McCullough works to find a long-term solution, groups like Arkansas Community Organizations are working to help people impacted.
"We will continue to do so," Arkansas Community Organization member Neil Sealy said. "We will bring those cases to DHS and continue to advocate."
We asked the governor's office about so many Arkansans losing Medicaid coverage, and they sent us a statement that reads in part:
"Arkansas is complying with state and federal law to remove Medicaid recipients who are no longer eligible for the program and will continue to do so responsibly," the governor's office said.