Children at Risk of Losing Medical Coverage Across the State

BY MELANIE BUCK –

Many Arkansan families are in jeopardy of losing medical coverage if they don’t reapply soon. According to state agencies, as many as 100,000 recipients of ARKids 1^st health insurance are at risk of losing coverage because new applications have not yet been submitted.

Information to determine a child’s eligibility is needed each year to maintain coverage under new rules from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare. The Arkansas Department of Human Services said parents and guardians of the recipients haven’t responded to two notices that were sent before the changes went into effect. More that 212,000 notices were mailed and 42,000 have not responded, leaving the one-third of ARKids 1^st recipients at risk of losing medical coverage.

Although the changes went into effect in 2014, DHS only began implementing the changes last summer because of difficulties when installing the new enrollment system. A third notice and final notice is now being sent granting a 30-day extension to those who still need to complete the application. For more information, contact the Arkansas Department of Human Services at www.humanservices.arkansas.gov

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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