arkansas medicaid
Arkansas Medical Board chairman suspended from state Medicaid program
This is a developing story that was last updated at 3 p.m. Friday, March, 2023. The chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board has been suspended from the Arkansas Medicaid Program and is under investigation for Medicaid and Medicare fraud. State health officials suspended all Medicaid payments to Board Chairman Dr. Brian Hyatt on Friday […]
Sanders: Arkansas will seek federal OK for new Medicaid work requirement
This story was updated at 10:40 a.m. on Feb. 16, 2023. Arkansas is seeking a waiver from the federal government in order to require adult Medicaid recipients to work, volunteer, go to school or receive workforce training in order to receive certain health care coverage, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Human Services Secretary Kristi Putnam […]
Rural Arkansas hospitals could get more funding for reducing inpatient services under proposed law
An Arkansas Senate committee on Wednesday approved a proposal that could bolster federal funding for rural hospitals as an incentive to specialize in emergency and outpatient care. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) subsidizes critical access hospitals — located no less than 35 miles from other hospitals and maintaining no more than […]
Arkansas Medicaid recipients petition DHS for better care, accessibility
Al Allen’s younger brother faced more than physical struggles after narrowly surviving being hit by a car on the interstate, she said. Allen’s brother was 18 and uninsured at the time of the accident, and he received treatment at the nearest neurotrauma care center in Springfield, Missouri. Almost two years later, he is able to […]
Arkansas Human Services nominee called quick learner, “unflappable” leader
Kristi Putnam entered Kentucky state government in 2016 as an executive assistant in the state’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, but she was really “an ambassador without a portfolio,” Kentucky Youth Advocates executive director Terry Brooks said. “It was one of those [roles] where you knew she was brought in to sort of be […]
The Blue Umbrella sells hand-crafted merchandise from Arkansans with disabilities
A little store nestled in downtown Little Rock offers a refreshing break from the busyness and consumerism of the holiday shopping season. It offers customers products handmade by an Arkansan, and the dollars spent have an impact beyond that goes well beyond a paycheck for those artists and craftsmen who made the items in the […]
Arkansas lawmakers mulling improvements to mental and behavioral health policy
Arkansas legislators are compiling a report to recommend legislation during the 2023 session aimed at bolstering mental and behavioral health services for Arkansans of all ages and incomes. The Joint Health Services Subcommittee met Monday to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the state’s existing mental and behavioral health care resources, in accordance with a […]
Arkansas Medicaid eligibility review expected to start in January – DHS officials
The Arkansas Department of Human Services is ready to “unwind” Medicaid coverage for thousands of Arkansans who gained access to the health insurance program when the federal government declared a public health emergency in 2020, officials said Friday. The public health emergency (PHE) declared at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely end in […]
An interview with Arkansas’ outgoing Secretary of Human Services Cindy Gillespie
Cindy Gillespie’s last day as the secretary of the Arkansas Department of Human Services was Friday. Advocate Deputy Editor Hunter Field had a brief conversation with Gillespie and her successor, Mark White. Gillespie, whose annual salary was roughly $287,o00, is leaving after more than six years at the helm of Arkansas’ largest state agency to […]
AG’s Medicaid fraud watchdog arrested 51, convicted 33 in fiscal year 2022
Arkansas’ Medicaid fraud watchdog saw its most active year in fiscal 2022, which ended Sept. 30, racking up 51 arrests and 33 convictions for various types of Medicaid fraud, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Thursday. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit also brought in a record of more than $42.5 million in civil settlements, restitution and […]
Arkansas will no longer auto-assign new Medicaid expansion enrollees to private plans
State Medicaid officials made a subtle change this month to reduce the number of low-income Arkansans who receive financial assistance to purchase private health insurance. Previously, those eligible for the state’s expanded Medicaid program who didn’t choose a commercial health plan would be automatically enrolled in one. But with the Sept. 1 policy change, the […]
Arkansas DHS secretary to resign next month
Cindy Gillespie, the secretary of the Arkansas Department of Human Services, will resign next month. Gillespie, who came to Arkansas in 2016 to lead DHS, oversaw several major reforms of Arkansas’ Medicaid programs, particularly its version of Medicaid expansion, now called ARHOME. Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Gillespie’s resignation in a Thursday afternoon news release. Hutchinson […]