State officials say another 4,600 enrollees dropped from Arkansas Works due to work requirement

More than 4,600 Arkansas Works enrollees lost their coverage on Dec. 1 as a result of the program’s work requirement, according to figures released Monday.

The terminations bring the total number who have lost coverage due to the requirement since the state began implementing it in June to 16,932.

To meet the requirement, enrollees who don’t qualify for an exemption must spend 80 hours a month on work or other approved activities. Enrollees who fail to meet the requirement for three months during a year are terminated from the program and barred from re-enrolling for the rest of the year.

The 4,655 enrollees who lost coverage this month is the largest number to be dropped from the program for noncompliance in a single month so far.

Partly as a result of the terminations, the state also reported that total enrollment in the program dropped from 245,553 on Nov. 1 to 234,385 as of Dec. 1.

The program covers Arkansans who became eligible for Medicaid when the state extended the assistance in 2014 to adults with incomes of up to 138 percent of the poverty level.

Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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