Arkansas Department of Human Services: Medicaid coverage to be restored to recipients disenrolled in error

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - An error has caused some Arkansas Medicaid recipients to be disenrolled from coverage, according to a statement from the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

Gavin Lesnick, Chief of the DHS Office of Communications and Community Engagement said the DHS is working to redetermine eligibility for beneficiaries whose coverage was extended due to the COVID-19 federal Public Health Emergency.

As a part of the review, DHS has identified some Medicaid recipients who were disenrolled in error.

Coverage is in the process of being restored to those recipients, according to Lesnick.

Nationwide, roughly 84 million people are covered by the government-sponsored program, which has grown by 20 million people since January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, according to the Associated Press.

States have begun checking everyone’s eligibility for Medicaid for the first time in three years, as many as 14 million people could lose access to that healthcare coverage.

Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia are among the states that will begin removing ineligible Medicaid recipients as early as this month.

"Normal Medicaid eligibility rules have resumed, and DHS is working to redetermine eligibility for beneficiaries whose coverage was extended due to the federal Public Health Emergency. As part of this effort, we are continuously monitoring our system processes and addressing issues as they arise. DHS has recently identified some eligible Medicaid recipients who were disenrolled in error. We are in the process of restoring coverage to these beneficiaries and expect that process to be complete this week. We will continue to monitor and address any problems that are identified in our eligibility system, and we plan to release information in early May on the number of beneficiaries who have been disenrolled because they are no longer eligible."
Gavin Lesnick, DHS Office of Communications & Community Engagement

from KARK https://ift.tt/mxILX1v