DHS briefs Senate public‑health committee on Medicaid redetermination, timeline for PHE unwind

Christie Putnam, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and DHS staff told the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee that Medicaid serves more than 1,100,000 Arkansans and that the agency plans to redetermine the entire Medicaid caseload within six months beginning in February as the public‑health emergency unwinds.

Elizabeth Pittman, director for medical services, summarized program scope and eligibility: Medicaid includes more than 30 programs and enrollment categories and relies on a mix of federal (about 76%) and state funding. Pittman said DHS will begin mailing redetermination packets in early February, provide 90‑day notices for most eligibility categories (120 days for long‑term supports and services), and expects to begin closures on April 1, 2023 unless beneficiaries document continued eligibility.

DHS staff warned members to expect constituent calls as eligibility notices and closures begin. Committee members asked about agency capacity; DHS said Division of County Operations staff and existing vendor contracts will be used to handle surge workload and noted application processing was near current levels with a backlog of about 1,000. DHS also flagged uncertainty about portions of the caseload—"we have no way of knowing of these 398,000 clients how many of these are truly no longer eligible," staff said.

Separately, Jill Thayer of the Bureau of Legislative Research explained new procedures tied to Act 112, which imposes a fifteenth‑day filing deadline for bills affecting state health benefit plans and requires a fiscal impact statement. The bureau has contracted the Siegel Group as an actuary to prepare those statements for the state employee benefit plan and certain higher‑education self‑funded plans; Siegel will monitor filings, the chair will authorize analysis, and data use agreements with plan holders and EBD are being negotiated with anticipated 5–10 business‑day data turnaround after request.

Sen. Dan Sullivan raised questions about possible data sources such as AIHEC; Thayer said the bureau intends to pull primary plan data directly from the plan providers and that AIHEC is not engaged in the current process. Thayer said using an outside actuary is precedent in other committees, citing the joint retirement committee's longstanding practice.

The committee also heard a broad overview from the Arkansas Department of Health about its five centers (health advancement, health protection, health practice, public health lab and local public health), and from the Department of Energy and Environment and the Division of Workforce Services, which introduced leadership and offered contact materials to the committee. The chair said legislation hearings will begin next week.