Arkansas Works deadline looms; health coverage at risk for many

Arkansas Works enrollees face work compliance cutoff.

News Story (Arkansas)

Andy Davis
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
September 30, 2018
READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Tags: Medicaid, Work Requirements

Organizations mentioned/involved: Legal Aid of Arkansas (LAA) (Jonesboro, AR)

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DETAILS

Kevin De Liban, an attorney with Jonesboro-based Legal Aid of Arkansas, said the number shows that the requirement is a “termination trap” and that the state is “well on its way to terminating 15,000 to 20,000 Arkansans by the end of the year.”

He blamed a lack of knowledge about the requirement, a lack of access to computers and the Internet, and difficulty using a state website to report work hours and exemptions.

“There is not an actual economic hand up here,” De Liban said. “If the state were interested in helping people improve their economic position, the state would not take away people’s health care, which is needed to be healthy in order to be able to work, and would have put increased investment in meaningful job programs.”