Campaign Action
As the Trump administration and Republican governor in Arkansas planned it, their so-called independence initiative for poor people in the state has meant thousands lost their Medicaid coverage just weeks after it was implemented. Arkansas got one of those Trump Medicaid waivers, allowing the state to impose work requirements on Medicaid enrollees.
As of Saturday, with one of worst internet connectivity rates in the nation, of the estimated 46,000 Medicaid enrollees subjected to these requirements, more than 30,000 meet the mandate, but only 844 met the reporting requirement. That's despite the state's assertion that "they made many efforts to contact those subject to the new requirement, including sending letters and emails, making phone calls and videos, working with community organizations and setting up a call center to answer questions."
That's not working, writes Jessica Greene, a professor at Baruch College. She found that 12 of 18 Medicaid recipients she interviewed this summer hadn't heard about the requirement, demonstrating a "profound lack of awareness about the policy."
"First time I've ever heard anything [about it]," a 31-year old man, who had started a vocational training program the day we spoke, said. "You'd think it'd be on the news or something. I ain't seen it on the news, and I watch Channel 8 news every night." Others echoed his surprise: "I've never even heard of it" and "I can't believe I ain't heard something about it on the news."
Just three of the people she talked to had learned of the policy through a letter from the state's department of health. Only two of the people she spoke with didn't already qualify by working 80 hours/month or because of an exemption and both said they were actively looking for work. Troubling, a third said that the online reporting requirement was a primary barrier: "I can't do that. I don't have a phone. I don't have a computer."
Trump doesn't care. Gov. Asa Hutchinson doesn't care. He says that "Personal responsibility is important." So if they don't have a phone or a computer, that's a failing of character.