Arkansas ramps up outreach about new Medicaid work requirements

Arkansas launched a new series of flyers, posters, text messages and videos Thursday about new work requirements taking effect next year for some Medicaid participants.

The Department of Human Services announced a new “outreach toolkit” about the requirements that take effect for those on the Medicaid expansion program in January under the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed last year.

The requirements mandate that recipients of the federal insurance program must complete 80 hours of work, community service, higher education, work programming or a combination of the four each month, unless they meet certain exemption criteria. 

“DHS is committed to helping Arkansans prepare for changes that may affect their health care,” Department of Human Services Secretary Janet Mann said in a news release. “This toolkit provides ready-to-use educational resources for organizations and community members to spread the word about the new requirements and what they need to do to maintain their coverage.”

The toolkit includes templates of emails, text messages and blog posts that providers, nonprofit groups, insurers and others can use to share information about the new requirements. It also offers graphics in English, Spanish and Marshallese.

The department also unveiled videos that will run on digital bulletin boards in each of its county offices, and encouraged organizations to sign up for free customized promotional videos. 

Arkansas began a “soft launch” of the new requirements earlier this year, checking whether beneficiaries comply but not dropping them if they don’t.

The toolkit was produced in house using existing resources, department spokesperson Gavin Lesnick said.

Arkansas is preparing to launch the requirements as the state’s hybrid expansion faces an uncertain future. The state has asked for a temporary two-year extension of the program, which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for low-income Arkansans, after the Trump administration rejected its renewal.

Lesnick said the federal government has not made a decision on that request yet. 

The last time Arkansas implemented work requirements for Medicaid, more than 18,000 people lost coverage before a federal judge blocked the restriction.