LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas officials say nearly 8,900 people didn't meet a work requirement for the state's Medicaid expansion in January and are at risk of losing coverage if they don't comply within two months.
The Department of Human Services on Friday said nearly half of the 234,400 people on the state's Medicaid expansion were subject last month to the requirement that they work 80 hours a month. Beneficiaries lose coverage if they don't meet the requirement for three months in a calendar year.
More than 18,000 people lost coverage for not complying with the work requirement last year, but were eligible to re-apply last month.
Arkansas was the first state to enforce the requirement after the Trump administration allowed states to tie Medicaid coverage to work, but a lawsuit is challenging the requirement.