LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — According to the Arkansas Department of Human Services, more than 420 thousand Arkansans have been disenrolled from Medicaid in the past six months.
Gavin Lesnick with DHS said there are a number of reasons why people have been disenrolled or could be disenrolled.
“Income is one of them, they could have moved out of state, they could have had a condition that changed over the past few years,” Lesnick said.
Lesnick said disenrolled people can file an appeal to make the case on why they should not have been disenrolled.
“If you lost coverage because you didn’t send in information that we needed to re-determine your eligibility, you can also reach out to us and provide that information,” Lesnick said. “Depending on the type of coverage if you get it to us within 30 days or 90 days between the date of closure, you can be reinstated.”
Patrick Eaton, owner of Eaton Agency, LLC, said he and other agencies can help people get some type of insurance.
Eaton noted the number of people he helps reenroll in Medicaid has jumped from 200 to 600 people a month.
“I hear a lot of confusion basically. A lot of people don’t know exactly what is going on with their health insurance,” Eaton said.
Eaton said anyone who loses insurance should take immediate action to avoid a gap in coverage and those who are past the deadline to respond to DHS can still get some type of health coverage through other insurance providers.
“You shouldn’t lose hope because there are options out there for everybody,” Eaton said. “It might not be exactly what you had before, but there are going to be options that will help everybody get some type of coverage so you don’t have to worry about these catastrophic events.”
DHS also has a list of resources and information on its page for those who have lost coverage.
